Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over
by KiwiBlossom
Summary: Rule number one: Always ask your best friend if she's interested in someone BEFORE having a heated make-out session with said person. NejixTen Complete!
1. Chapter 1:The Kiss

My Typical What?

I don't own Naruto.

**A/N: This is my first Fanfic so please don't be mean. Um, I think that's it for now. See bottom notes.**

"Talking"

_Thinking/flashbacks_

**Inner**

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Tenten POV

I was walking – No that's an understatement. I was practically sprinting – to school like I always did…but this time I was late. Now, you're probably thinking "So she's just a couple minutes late. No big deal, right?" Wrong. I have never, and I mean never, been late for school before and I pride myself with my perfect attendance. And, yes, I am aware of how nerdy that sounded.

Anyways, when I got to school there was this kid standing there like he was waiting for someone. I was to far way to see who it was from where I was standing, so I leaned forward and peered closely at the person. Oh! It's a guy. One of my best friend's cousins. Neji Hyuuga, Hinata Hyuuga's cousin. Why the hell is he just standing there? Shouldn't he be in class?

"Oi! Are you okay?" I asked.

"You walk that way?"

No, I just like walking through the woods every morning and being late. Some genius.

"Yes, I walk that way. Now answer _my_ question." I retorted.

"Come with me," he said.

"Why should I come with y-"

I was cut off by him pulling me into a side part of the school that I'd never seen before.

"You know we're gonna be really la-"

Once again I was cut off, but this time for a different reason. His lips crashed onto mine, my back pushed against the wall with Neji in front of me.

A variety of thoughts ran through my head as the kiss went on, most of which started with, '_what the hell?_'. Not that I wasn't enjoying it, but it was my first kiss. I always imagined my first kiss a little more romantic than that. You know, under some weeping willow or something. But back to the crisis at hand. Now I was actually enjoying the kiss a lot…except there was this really irritating brick sticking out and it was right in the middle of my back. I didn't want to risk ruining the moment by moving so I didn't. Not that it mattered because a second later Neji pulled away.

"We're late."

"We are?" Then it hit me. I was late! I was never late! Alright, breathe. Breathe. Okay, I'm alright now.

"Then why are we standing here?!"

"I was waiting for you to calm down."

"Oh. Well, that was sweet of you."

"Hn."

Twitch.

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We walked into the school in silence, not really knowing what to say. I mean we just were having a kissing fest a couple of minutes ago! What were we supposed to say? That was a lot of fun; we should do it again sometime? Yeah. No.

We were almost half way to my locker when Mr. Herman caught us. Busted.

Now, I have nothing against Mr. Herman, but apparently some other kid did waaaay back and gave him the nick name "Mr. Hair-man". This didn't really make any sense when you really think about because Mr. Herman is bald. At first I didn't get it when I first transferred to Miyagami High school (1) that is until we went on a school swimming trip. Yeah, seeing Mr. Herman without a shirt on, not pretty. Anyways, the man has hair on ever inch of his body except his head. You could make like three different sweaters if you shaved all his hair off! Gross. But, that's beside the point.

Mr. Hair-man called both of us into his office, and asked to talk to me first. I walked into his office and he cleared his throat.

"Tenten," he began "Why were you late, this morning?"

"I, uh, well..." I stumbled over different explanations, all of them starting to blur together.

**Answer him!**

"That's what I thought."

He pointed at the window. I walked over to the window, slightly confused, and looked out.

"Ms. Queen (2) do you see that brick?"

I nodded.

"When I came into my office this morning…"

I wasn't listening to him. I was to busy staring at _that_ brick. The brick that was bugging me when Neji and I were kissing. Mr. Herman had caught me and Neji kissing! Oh shit.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to call your mother."

My mom! Shit! If my mom found out that I was late for school because I was making out with my best friend's cousin I would definitely be grounded, not too mention my dad would spazz when he found out.

I was speechless. I didn't know what to say. So, I did the most logical thing. Begging.

"Mr. Herman, please don't call my mom! I'll do anything! I'll-I'll clean the chalkboard every day after school!"

"I'm sorry, Tenten; I have no choice! I don't think that it's appropriate to keep this from your mother. Don't you think she would want to know?"

I grumbled out a response about how she would actually rather not know, but Mr. Herman didn't hear me.

"You may leave now," he said solemnly.

I sulked out of the office, glancing at Neji on the way out.

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"Where were you?" one of my best friends, Kasumi asked. "I didn't see you in homeroom."

"I left home late and Mr. Herman caught me sneaking in," I lied. _Did I just lie? But I suck at lying! So... why did that come so naturally..._

**Doesn't matter! What's done is done!**

_-Groan- I thought you were gone!_

**Can't get rid of me that easily!!**

_You little-_

**Pay attention!!**

"I'm amazed! _The _Tenten Queen was _late_?"

"Shut up, Ino."

"T-Tenten-san! I-I thought something happened to you!"

"I'm fine, Hinata."

"I have just met _the_ love of my life!"

"Nice to see you to, Sakura, but I'm not really in the mood for your Sasuke rant today," I said.

"For your information, I'm so over Sasuke! I've moved onto greener pastures!"

"I didn't know their were greener pastures than Sasuke Uchiha."

Sakura Haruno has been obsessed with this guy named Sasuke Uchiha since the sixth grade. She's like our little gossip girl though. Always knows what's going on in our school.

As we were walking to our next class Hinata suddenly became an unnatural shade of red. Only one person can do that;Naruto Uzumaki. He's loud, obnoxious, and troublemaking, but Hinata adores the guy.

Speaking of which, Hinata is like our second mother, in a way. She tries to make sure we don't get in trouble and is really smart. Her drawings and paintings are pretty kick-ass too.

"Hey, Hinata!!" Naruto yelled.

"H-h-hi N-Naruto-kun."

Hinata's stuttering goes into overdrive around Naruto.

"Dobe, why are you so damn loud?"

"Shut up teme!"

"Dobe."

Glare.

"Teme."

Death Glare.

"Do-"

"OK!" Kasumi interrupted, "Let's get to class!"

"Umm…Yeah!" I added.

Kasumi Uchiha is probably one of the most sarcastic people I know. (Besides her brothers of course.) She likes to play pranks and what not. Wears graphic t-shirt's all the time. Today's pick was "Sorry, I'm not fluent in idiot."

"After school today we _have_ to go to the mall!" Ino said.

"Dare I ask why?" Kasumi asked, sarcasm in every word.

"Because I saw the _perfect_ pair of black boots!"

We all sigh.

"Fine Ino," We said in unison.

She smiled in triumph.

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We all took our seats and listened to Mr. Asuma drone on about the first World War.

_God, this is boring. I mean, it already happened so why can't we just move on?_

I let my eyes wander around the room in my boredom. Hinata looked like she might pass out any minute, while Naruto and Kiba Inuzuka were arguing over which was better, ramen or dogs.

Poor Hinata, caught in the middle of it all. Oh well!

Ino had her flirty face on though I'm not really sure who she was flirting with…Wait a minute! Everyone's getting up! I look at the clock. Wow. When I drift off I really drift off.

"Oi! Tenten, are you coming or not?" Ino yelled.

"Coming!" I yelled back.

Our next class was Art with Shizune. When we walked into the classroom I noticed that everyone was talking. Usually Ms. Shizune is in class before any of the students are.

As we were taking our seats someone with blond hair in a ponytail walked in. He looked like a male version of Ino. I passed a note to Sakura saying what I thought of him

She giggled and passed it to Kasumi who passed it to Ino who passed it to Hinata. They all started giggling. I smiled at them.

"Hello class, my name is Mr. Deidara, yeah," he said.

"He's a guy?" I heard Kasumi whisper to her brother, Sasuke. He smirked as usual.

"Ms. Shizune isn't feeling well today, so I'll be taking over the class," he said.

"Oi, Deidara, aren't you in our brother's class?" Saske asked, indicating both him and Kasumi.

"And your brother is….?"

"Itachi Uchiha," Kasumi answered.

"…Really?"

They nodded together.

"How, uh, interesting. Let's just move on with the project, shall we, yeah."

"What project?" Naruto asked.

"Well, you will pick one person that is your role model and you will draw a portrait of him or her, yeah."

"Oh…COOL!"

'_I'm a Barbie girl! In a Barbie world!'_

Deidara eyes widened as he snatched his cell phone out of his pocket and began to fiddle with it. Everyone started to snicker, but who wouldn't!?

"Hello? Oh, hi! Class, I'll be right back, yeah."

He walked out of the classroom, shutting the door behind him. Rookie mistake. All hell broke loose. Paper airplanes and spit balls flew, gossiping began, and swapping spit started.

"So, Sakura who's your new love interest?" I heard someone ask.

Sakura took a deep breath.

"Neji Hyuuga."

I think I just choked on my own saliva.

"I think I might ask him out."

Yup, just choked on my own spit. Why did it have to be Neji? Why couldn't it be…Gaara!? I mean he's pretty good looking!

**Oh, gee, I don't know, probably** **because Kasumi would freak or become all emo like her brother. **

_Shut up._

CRASH!

I whipped around to face the front of the room. There stood Gaara and Kasumi at Deidara's desk. On the floor was a sculpture of a bird's body and the head lying next to it, on the floor.

"Oooh, you're in trouble," Kasumi said.


	2. Chapter 2:The Party

My Typical What?

I don't own Naruto.

**OMG! I'm SO sorry that my update was late! Okay, it might not seem late too all of you, but it does to me! I'm really happy that some people reviewed and put me on their favourites/alerts list! But, not a lot of reviewed so, if it's not too much trouble if you could just drop a review it would make me incredibly happy! Oh! And I know on the last chapter it said "see bottom notes" but it didn't go on the chapter thingy so um, check the bottom of THIS chapter for the note.**

"Talking"

_Thinking/flashbacks/lyrics_

**Inner**

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"_I'm _in trouble?! Tch. _You're_ the one who suggested the guys and I play football," he retorted.

"Whatev-" She was cutoff by Mr. Deidara's screech of,

"BOBBY!"

Everybody started snickering again. Poor guy.

"Who did this!?" He demanded.

The whole class pointed in different directions. Deidara's right eye twitched. Slowly, the class pointed to Kasumi and Gaara. Except for me, Hinata, Sakura, and Ino, of course. The guys, on the other hand, had all pointed to the pair without hesitation.

"Thanks a lot, guys."

"Anytime, man, anytime," Kiba replied.

"UCHIHA! SABAKU! TO THE OFFICE! NOW!" Deidara yelled.

"Yes sir," they mumbled.

The class watched the duo stalk out of the classroom. We were all silent for a while.

"Well, that was interesting," Kiba said, breaking the silence.

Everyone burst out in a frenzy of mummers.

"What do you think she'll do to them?"

"Do you think they did it on purpose just so they could have detention together?"

"That would be so romantic!"

"What's romantic about detention?"

Other gossip was spread around the room while Deidara desperately tried to keep the class under control.

"CLASS! CLASS! CONTROL YOURSELVES! OKAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? FINE! JUST _TALK_ FOR THE REST OF CLASS!"

Cheers irrupted from the mouths of the teens. Deidara rolled his eyes and walked out of the classroom. Our group instantly pushed our desks together.

"Ne, Hinata-Chan, did you ask Naruto out yet?" Ino asked.

"W-what!? Why would I do that?"

"Oh, come on, Hinata-Chan, we all know you like him."

"We also know he's too stupid to ask you out-" Sakura added.

"So why don't you?" Ino finished.

"Um- I don't think I-"

"Hinata just wants to take it slow, instead of jumping the first good-looking guy she sees," I said.

Ino and Sakura rolled their eyes.

"I do not jump the first guy I see!" They said in unison.

"Maybe not the first guy, but you definitely have kissed more guys than we have," I replied.

"V-Very true," Hinata agreed.

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Tsunade sighed heavily, peering over the top of her hands at the two pupils that stood before her.

"What did you do this time, Kasumi?" She asked the brown haired girl.

"Hey! This time you gotta blame Mr. Pretty Boy over there," Kasumi replied.

Gaara sent a glare her way, which was countered by the stuck out tongue.

"Gaara? You did this?" Tsunade asked incredulously.

Gaara and Kasumi glanced at each other.

"Well,-" Gaara began.

"Sabaku broke 'Bobby'."

"Bobby?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Deidara's bird." Kasumi replied as if that answered everything.

"So, Deidara sent you down to the office because you broke his bird sculpture." She said this slowly as if that would help her understand the problem better.

"Yeah," They said in unison.

"Hmmm…"

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I'm seriously worried. I mean I'm happy for Sakura, but Neji _kissed _me! I just don't want Sakura to get hurt.

**Yeah, mostly cuz the last time she got dumped she came and ate all your ice cream!**

_No it's not! I'm genuinely worried._

**Sure, it is.**

_Okay, so maybe that is part of the reason why, but you can't expect me to be a super-friend like Hinata!_

**Good point.**

I was snapped out of my inner turmoil by Sakura's voice.

"Guess what?"

"What?"

_Here it comes. She's going to tell me that she asked Neji out and he said yes and I'm going to have to act all happy for her._

"I saw someone eyeing you in history class today."

"What? Who?" I demanded.

Sakura looked in both directions, like she had some extremely valuable information.

"George Matterson," She whispered.

I think my jaw hung all the way down to the floor. Yeah, um, that was NOT the answer I was hoping for. But being the nice person I am, I picked my jaw up off the floor and put on a cheery smile.

"Omigod, really!"

"Yup!"

"Thanks for telling me, Sakura."

"No problem. You know I always know what's going on," she replied, buffing her nails on her shirt.

I smiled a fake smile at her. Who knew smiling could be so painful?

"Oh! And Yuki is having Halloween Party this Saturday. We could triple date."

"Triple?" I asked.

"Oh, well, you'll go with George, Ino will find someone to go with, and I'll 'accidentally' bump into Neji at the party."

"Oh! Yeah, I guess."

"Great! I'll see around 4:00 on Saturday!"

"4:00?"

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"This is all your fault Sabaku."

"My fault. How is it my fault? I didn't give the punishment."

"Screw you."

"Hey you! Are you guys sweeping or talking? 'Cuz I'm hearin' talkin'!"

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I walked home extra slow to make my current un-grounded life last a little longer. My mom usually doesn't ground me no matter how bad I am, but I was late. And I was late because I was making out with a guy she didn't even know. Yeah, I'm screwed.

I reached the door of my house and put the key in really slowly, listening to the click of the lock, of the sound of the door opening.

"I'm home!" I yelled.

"Hi, honey! How was your day at school?"

Oh God, she's going into detective mode.

"Good."

"Really? Because I got a call from Mr. Herman today. He said you were late."

"Did he say why I was late?"

"Yes and…" she trailed off.

_Oh shit. I'm so dead. What the hell am I going to tell her? That it was an accident? That he came on to me?_

"And I'm so disappointed that you didn't tell me that you had your first kiss!" she finished.

"What?" I asked, partly in confusion and partly in disbelief.

"You had your first kiss and you didn't tell your _own mother_?"

"Um, yeah." I said uncertainly. "Wait a minute, you're not mad at me?"

"Mad? _Why would I be mad?_ My little girl just had her first kiss."

"Right, my first kiss…"

"So, who was it with? Was it with that George guy? Huh? Was it?"

"Umm…"

_She doesn't know. That means Mr. Hair-man didn't rat me out. Maybe he's not as bad as I thought._

"Yeah," I finished. "George."

She screamed only as a mother can. She must be really happy. May as well pop the question now.

"Hey, mom, can I, uh, go to a party this Saturday?"

Suddenly she switched to serious mom.

"Will there be a chaperone?"

"Yeah."

"Then of course you can, honey!"

Happy mom again.

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"I hate you."

"Hn."

"Do you ever talk?"

"Sometimes."

"Is it always in one word sentences?"

"Yes."

"Do you ever use slang?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Slang is stupid."

"Ha! Three words."

Sigh.

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**CherryBlossom** **says:** Hey girls!

**Angel4Awhile says: **Hey Saku-Chan!

**LavenderEyes says: **Hi

**Sharingan123: **Yo

**WeaponsMistress says: **Hey.

**CherryBlossom** **says: **Okay, who can go to Yuki's party this Saturday?

**Angel4Awhile says: **Me!

**LavenderEyes says: **I think I can.

**WeaponsMistress says: **I can.

**Sharingan123 says: **I'll just sneak out the window, I guess.

**CherryBlossom says: **Awesome! We're all gonna meet at Tenten's house to do our hair and costumes and stuff, okay?

**Sharingan123 says: **Sure.

**Angel4Awhile says: **'kay

**LavenderEyes says: **Alright…

**WeaponsMistress:** Don't I have a say in this? It's my house!

**CherryBlossom: **No, you don't. Now I've got to go. Bye everyone!

_CherryBlossom has signed off_

**Sharingan123 says: **Ah crap. I think the 'rents are coming upstairs. Bye!

_Sharingan123 has signed off_

**Angel4Awhile says: **Gtg, too. See ya!

_Angel4Awhile has signed off_

**WeaponsMistress: **Looks like it's just me and you Hina.

**LavenderEyes says: **Actually, I've got to go train for a bit. I'll talk to you later!

_LavenderEyes has signed off_

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_Saturday afternoon_

"So, does anyone have any ideas as to what they want to be?" Sakura asked.

"No," we all answered in unison.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

She sighed.

"This is gonna take a long time."

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_4 hours later.  
_

It had been 4 long hours before Sakura and Ino let us out of my room. Sakura had decided to go as a dead cheerleader along with Ino. Hinata was difficult because they didn't want to make her look like a slut. In the end they decided on a fairy. Kind of childish but Hinata looked lovely. Kasumi refused to wear anything revealing or a skirt, so they gave up on her. And then there was me. They knew I had long hair which I always wore in my signature twin buns. Taking out my hair, braiding it into two long braids, and dressing me in some hides made me into Pocahontas.

We walked out in our outfits to see my mom and Kasumi talking.

"Hey, girls! You look wonderful!" she exclaimed.

"Thanks," we chanted.

"Oh, but, Kasumi what are you going to wear? You don't have a costume." My mom said, worried.

"Got it covered," Kasumi replied, taking out two sharp canines and popping them in her mouth.

"See." She bared her teeth.

"Very nice."

Wanting to get to the party badly, I changed the subject.

"Come on, mom, we don't want to be late!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming."

My mom grabbed her purse, car keys and we were out the door.

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So far, the party wasn't really enjoyable. For me anyway. Ino had seen some hot guy and had gone to flirt with him, Naruto had invited Hinata to dance, Kasumi was off somewhere probably making trouble, and Sakura was squeezing my hand and shoving chips down her mouth at an impossible speed. She kept muttering questions and then answering them herself. For example: "Do you think he'll come" and "That was a stupid question. This is a kiddy party he would never be caught dead here." Normally I would think she was talking about Sasuke but, this time I honestly didn't know who she was talking about anymore; Neji or Sasuke.

Eventually she saw whoever she was looking for and let go of my hand leaving me alone with George.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"Good."

"Enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah."

We stood there in an awkward silence until Yuki ran up to me.

"Tenten! I so need your help! Look, just go into the kitchen and fill these bowls full of chips again, okay?"

"Uh…"

"Okay, thanks!" she said and hurried off to deal with whatever else she had to deal with.

I walked into the kitchen and filled the bowls just like Yuki had told me too. I walked down stairs and turned the corner only to be greeted by a sight that I hoped I would never see.

There stood Neji Hyuuga and Sakura Haruno kissing.

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**Drama-ish! Okay, I need your help with this so YOU HAVE TO REVIEW! Would you prefer ShikaxIno or ShikaxTema? When you vote could you also put who you want Ino or Temari to be with? Just to make sure, this is a NejixTen fic, obviously, with side couples of SasuxSaku, NaruxHina, and GaaraxOC. Well, that's all for now so, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**

**KiwiBlossom**


	3. Chapter 3:Avoiding

My Typical What?

I don't own Naruto.

**Shit. Another late update. Once again, I am SO sorry. Anyways, the winner is….SHIKAXTEMA! But, to make the story work I need Ino to be jealous for a bit AND THEN the ShikaxTema will start. Mmkay? Still I wish I would get more reviews…Oh! And I need you to vote who you would rather have Ino with. Only ONE person told me. So, I'm just going to go with their suggestions. In other words, should Ino go with Shino, Chouji, or Kiba? Also, see bottom notes.**

"Talking"

_Thinking/flashbacks/lyrics_

**Inner**

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I heard the chip bowl hit the ground. I wanted to cry and punch someone at the same time. Neji pulled away from Sakura. She looked surprised, and then she saw it was me and smiled. _Smiled._ She basically just made out with my crush (so what if she didn't know?)and she _smiles_ at me. Damn, I should've decked her right then and there. But, I didn't. I just turned around and stormed out of the room.

"Tenten!" I heard Neji call after me. I didn't listen. I just kept walking. I weaved through the crowd, trying to get free.

_I wanna take you away  
Lets escape into the music  
DJ let it play  
I just can't refuse it  
Like the way you do this  
Keep on rockin to it  
Please don't stop the  
Please don't stop the music_

The music was pounding in my ears and I was almost smothered by all of the dancing bodies. Oh God, I think I'm gonna puke.

"Tenten! Are you okay?"

"Yumi?" Yuki's twin sister. She'll know where the bathroom is.

"The one and only!" she replied.

"I need the bathroom."

"Okay!" she yelled over the music.

Guiding me to the washroom, we made our way through the dancing throng of gyrating hips.

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I flushed the toilet, closed the lid and sat down. I took a deep breath.

"What the hell am I going to do?" I muttered, hands over my eyes.

**You should punch her!**

"No! Violence solves nothing!" I yelled at myself.

"Tenten? Are you okay?" Yumi asked from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" I said, while opening the door.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Nothing, I just saw Neji and Sakura kissing. That's all." I answered.

"You threw up because you saw Neji-san and Sakura-san making out?" she said slowly.

"Uhh…yeah. Guess I'm not comfortable with it yet." I laughed nervously while scratching the back of my head.

"Whatever floats your boat!" She shrugged, turned around, and started to walk away.

"Hey, Yumi!" she turned around, looking at me. "Can you find Kasumi for me?"

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"Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Uchiha." I said.

"No problem! And call me Mitoko."

I waved good bye to Kasumi and her mom. Turns out Kasumi wasn't having a great time either. I casually walked in, yelling "I'm home!" in the process.

"Home so soon, honey?" my mom answered back.

"Yeah, I umm…didn't feel well," I answered.

"Okay."

"I'm gonna go to bed."

"Good night."

"'Night."

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_1 month later._

I walked to school extra slowly…but still got to school at the same time. Damn. I'm going to have to talk to Sakura eventually – I've been avoiding her all month.

"Hey Tenten!" Wow, that's ironic. The person I don't want to see right now is standing in front of me. Damn, karma's a bitch.

"Why did you leave the party so soon?" The pink haired girl asked.

Oh my God, she's still hung up on that? "I…had cramps," I lied. Seems like I've been doing a lot of that lately.

"Oh…." She trailed off.

What the hell is her problem? I mean _I'm_ the one who caught her making out with _my_ crush!

"What?"

"It's just; I thought you would tell someone you knew better. Not Yumi," She finished, promptly making me feel incredibly guilty.

"Sorry," I mumbled. This is going to be a looong day.

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It's finally the end of the day! God, I don't think the clock could have ticked any slower. I basically avoided Sakura and Neji all day and alienated myself from everyone. I don't think I can do this for much longer though. I will seriously burst if I don't tell someone about my kiss. Okay, breathe Tenten. Think about who you can tell; Ino? No, she'd probably tell Sakura. She's really close with her; Sakura is off the list for obvious reasons; Hinata? No, she wouldn't understand; Kasumi? Probably not. She wouldn't give a damn. Ugh!

"Hey, Tenten!"

I turned around to see Kiba Inuzuka running down the hall waving one arm and dragging a broom in the other.

"Hey Kiba," I responded.

"What's up?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.

"Nothing much, you?"

"Just doing detention."

I smiled sympathetically. Now that I looked at him, Kiba was kind of cute in his own way. I mean, _I___wouldn't date him, but he was cute. I think I stared at him for a long time because he gave me the "What-the-hell-are-you-staring-at?" look.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I was going to say yes, but then I realized: I wasn't okay and putting on a fake smile really wasn't going to help my situation. So, just to freak him out more than he already was…I started to cry. And no, I don't mean whimpering or a single tear rolling down my cheek or whatever. I was full out bawling.

Kiba's eyes were really big, not knowing how to handle a girl who doesn't cry.

"Tenten, what's wrong?"

"I-I-It's nothing," I replied.

"Well, if you're going to cry over it then something must be wrong," he stated.

I looked at him, again. What was holding me back from telling him? I mean, just a minute ago I wanted to tell someone desperately about Neji and my kiss. And that's exactly what I did.

"You remember the day I missed homeroom? The reason I was late for class was…"

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Twenty minutes later and I had told Kiba everything. Amazingly, he was a great listener. Never once did he interrupt me. He just nodded his head and listened, taking in everything like a sponge takes in water. Finally, he took a deep breath.

"Why are you telling me this and not one of your friends?" he asked.

I paused.

"I have no idea."

"I think," he began, "that you should tell either Sakura, or one of your other friends."

I stared at him, waiting for more advice.

"But that's just my opinion," he finished.

And with that he hiked the broom over his shoulder and started to walk away.

"Hey, Kiba!" I called after him.

The Inuzuka boy turned his head slightly, to show he was listening.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem! When you live with a whole bunch of women you have to be able to give good advice," he replied with a grin. I smiled back at him.

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I alternated between scowling and staring at the phone, trying to decide who I should call and spill the beans to. I sighed, slowly picked up the phone, and dialed Kasumi's phone number.

"_Hello?_" I heard Kasumi's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hey, Kasumi."

"_Hey Tenten! What's up?_"

"Nothing much. Um…I was wondering…could I come over and crash at your place for the night?" I closed my eyes, silently hoping that she would say no, but wanting her to say yes at the same time.

"_Sure. What time do you want me to pick you up at?_" she answered.

"You don't need to!" I replied urgently. I'm going to need a few minutes to prep myself for this. "I can get my mom to drive me there."

"_Cool. See you in a few!_" she said and hung up.

I ran down the stairs and was greeted by my mom in her robe, with curlers in her hair.

"Mom I need you to drive me to Kasumi's house," I told her.

"Can't honey. I've got a date!" She said the last part a little too cheerful for my liking.

"Well, can't you drop me off on your way there?" I bargained.

She sighed.

"I guess so. But if I'm late I can and will blame it on you."

"Fair enough. Just let me get my stuff," I said and ran up the stairs, only to come down a couple minutes later.

We hopped in the car and started the 10 minute drive to the Uchiha's. Attempting to start a conversation I said:

"So, mom, who's your date?"

"Oh, just a coworker." Not the answer I was looking for.

"Elaborate please!" I said while rolling my eyes.

She pursed her lips.

"You know Kiba Inuzuka's dad right?" she asked me.

"Yeah…" I replied hesitantly. I don't like where this is going.

"Well, he said he needed my help on a project and asked me out for dinner so we can discuss it," she finished.

I gaped at her. She was going to date Kiba's dad! Ew. That is so wrong on so many different levels.

"Mom! That is…" before I could finish we had arrived at Kasumi's. "We will talk about this later," I said with finality and climbed out of the car.

"I'll see you at home!" She said and waved goodbye. I waved back at her.

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We were in Kasumi's room talking and playing some violent car game. I was basically avoiding the whole subject of Sakura and Neji dating and had almost forgotten about why I was even there besides to hang out with a friend, until Kasumi said,

"You don't mind if the guys crash here tonight do you?"

I almost dropped the controller. I turned and stared at her.

"W-w-what do you mean by 'guys'?" I managed to get out.

"You know, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji?" she said while waving her hand to accent there names.

"O-oh, yeah I know what you mean!" I replied, trying my hardest to seem cool about it.

"Good, because they'll probably want to play on the den," the brunette said casually.

Once again, I choked on my saliva…and dropped the controller. After I regained my posture I managed to choke out,

"That's cool." And went back to playing the game.

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Neji POV

I'm at Uchiha's house in the kitchen waiting for the blonde haired idiot to decide what to eat.

"Maybe I should have ramen, but the potato chips look good too. Oh, and are those your mom's famous brownies! Hmm…decisions, decisions," he blabbered on.

I rolled my eyes.

"Hey Uchiha, can we do something other than watch this idiot choose something to eat? I can feel myself getting dumber," asked, while Naruto shot me a look.

Sasuke shrugged aimlessly.

"Sure!" an overly excited Naruto answered.

"Whatever," Shikamaru drawled.

"Hn."

Rolling his onyx eyes, he gestured for the guys to follow him.

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Tenten POV

Okay. I'm going to tell Kasumi. Now. I will do it. I will.

"Hey Kasumi?" I turned to look at her.

"Yeah?" she replied, focusing on kicking some guy's ass at wrestling.

"I need to tell you something."

"You can tell me anything."

I took a deep breath.

"I kissed Sakura's bo-" I was cut off by the Uchiha brother (and no, I don't mean Itachi) and his friends barging in.

"Get off. We want to play." It wasn't a request, it was a demand. Any one who wasn't used to Sasuke, like me, would have done exactly what he wanted, but Kasumi didn't roll that way.

"Come on, Sasuke, I'm kicking this guy's ass!" she replied, still playing.

The Uchiha genius rolled his eyes.

"Fine. We can play together," he reasoned.

"Sure," she agreed, not really paying attention.

Sasuke walked over and picked up the other controller that I had been using, starting to play Tennis.

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Finally the guys left! I've never been so silent in my life. Honestly, watching Sasuke and Kasumi play on the Wii isn't exactly my idea of entertaining. Or watching Naruto lose continually to Sasuke. Currently Kasumi and I are sitting on her bed listening to music and talking about school. Basically, the conversation has been like this the whole time.

Kasumi: "I can't believe that Mr. Hair-man made us do a 7 page essay on 'The Good Earth'."

Me: "I know! He can be so unfair at times!"

Kasumi: "Although, 'The Good Earth' is a good book."

Me: "It had its moments."

Well, you get the point. Now, Kasumi's downloading stuff on limewire. I'm staring at her, not sure if I should tell her now.

_Should I tell her?_

**I dunno. **

_Maybe I should. I mean, it's not like she's going to tell Sakura, right?_

**You know what I just realized. You only talk to me when you need help with something!**

_Yeah, so?_

**From now on I'm on strike! I will not answer anymore of your questions!**

_Can't you go on strike __after_ _help me with this life crisis?_

**Nope! Bye bye!**

_No! Wait! You can't leave! I need you right now!_

Well, now I have no conscience. Great. What am I going to do now? Sigh. It's now or never, I guess.

I turned to face the brunette.

"Kasumi I need to tell you something," I said once again, hoping for no interruptions.

"Okay. What do you want to tell me?" she answered.

"I kissed Hyuuga Neji!" I blurted out.

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**AN// And end chappie! I know the time skip was kind of major and it's only the third chappie and I've already got Tenten telling people about the kiss. It's just I had to get this down or I'd probably would have forgotten about it. Again I'm SO sorry about the very very very late update. Also, I know in my profile it says that I will only start one story at a time, BUT if I have a good idea and I have to get it down I will probably start on that story. Uhh…well that's it so, PRESS THE PURPLE BUTTON!**

**KiwiBlossom out!**


	4. Chapter 4:Confessing

My Typical What?

I don't own Naruto.

**AN/This is really starting to bother me. I tell you to vote and what do you do? YOU. DON'T. VOTE. twitch Anyways, enjoy the chappie! (VOTE!)**

"Talking"

_Thinking/flashbacks/lyrics_

**Inner**

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She stared at me with this half shocked half "What the hell" look on her face. Finally, she said,

"You are in some deep shit."

"I know I am! I just didn't know what to do or who to tell or even if I should tell anyone," I said, kind of panicking. 

"Does anyone else know about this?" the female Uchiha questioned.

"Just Kiba. But, I made him promise not to tell anyone!" I replied, still panicking.

"Okay. Hmm…" she stopped to think about anything else major to ask me. Her face became serious. I knew the question she was thinking about, but so far I had done a pretty good job of avoiding it.

"Did you kiss him first?" she muttered darkly.

I remained silent for a minute. Her eyes widened, taking my silence as a 'yes'.

"No. I didn't kiss him first," I said, she thought I was finished because she opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off, "But I didn't pull back."

"Was this after they were-"

"NO!" I shouted. I knew where this was going. "I didn't kiss him after they started to go out."

"That would explain why you left the party early and why you were late for homeroom."

I stared at her. How did she figure this stuff out? I mean, I only told her that I kissed Neji and she already figured out why I missed homeroom. Kasumi's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Are you going to tell Sakura?"

I thought about it for a bit. If I told Sakura she would be furious…but the longer I put it off the angrier she'll be that I didn't tell her sooner.

"I don't know," I replied, still pondering over the thought.

"Well, it's your decision," she paused, "I have one question, though."

I raised an eyebrow, signaling her to go on.

"Why didn't you tell someone sooner? I mean, why wait a whole month to tell me and suffer for so long?"

I paused, thinking about it. Why did I wait so long? I could've told someone a _long_ time ago.

"I have…no idea….But, what am I going to do?"

"Well," she paused, thinking about it, "I think you should talk to Neji. Ask him why he kissed you, why he kissed Sakura, etc. It's no use getting stressed out over something that may mean nothing, but may also mean something," she answered.

"As much as you sound like a freaking psychiatrist, that advice is actually useful," I said.

She laughed and threw a pillow at me.

"Well, I'm going to get changed and shit," she said, while a yell of "Watch your language, Kasumi!" came from downstairs which she promptly ignored.

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_In Sasuke's room._

_Neji POV_

We are currently talking about the most boring subject possible. Girls. Actually Uzumaki is basically the only one talking.

"Dobe, no one gives a damn that Sakura has nice legs," Sasuke said irritably.

Naruto retorted with, "How do you know I was talking about Sakura-Chan? All I said was 'this girl in my homeroom has really nice legs'." He wiggled his eyebrows to emphasize his question.

"Because, idiot, all you ever do is talk about Sakura and how 'hot' she looks all the time."

Uzumaki was silenced for a while trying to think of a come back. Uchiha rolled his eyes and stood up.

"I'm going to get changed and stuff," he said, and walked out of his room to the bathroom.

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_In the bathroom._

"You're in my way, Uchiha."

"Actually, you're in _my_ way, sis."

The female Uchiha rolled her eyes, walked into the bathroom, and slammed the door in her brother's face.

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_Kasumi's room_

_2:00 A.M._

_Tenten POV_

"Kasumi? Are you awake?"

My answer was the sound of Kasumi's steady breathing. Sigh. What the hell was I going to do? I want to tell Sakura, but if I do…she'll be really pissed. I _want_ to talk to Neji about what happened, but every time I'm around him I get all tongue-tied. Sigh. May as well sleep on it.

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_Kasumi's room _

_11:00 A.M._

My eyes opened slowly. I looked over to Kasumi's bed to see it made nicely, for once.

"Morning sunshine," Kasumi said, arriving with two cups of green tea, one for me and one for her. She handed me the one she hadn't drank from.

"Thanks," I croaked out, my throat sore from not talking.

"How was your sleep?" she asked.

"Okay…" She raised an eyebrow.

"Really? 'Cause you slept like a baby." I looked at the clock, and jumped up from my sitting position.

"Oh my god! It's already 11:00! My mom said she be here two hours ago!" I yelled, panicking. Kasumi nodded her head.

"She dropped by. I told her you were still asleep. She said she would come back around 3:00. Also said something about 'needing to see Mr. Hyuuga' about something," the brunette replied, sipping her tea.

_Mr. Hyuuga? As in Hinata Hyuuga's father? That means he's Neji's uncle. Hmm…_

"She came by last night, apparently, to talk to my mom." 

"About what!" I asked, trying to get the answer out of her as soon as possible.

"Dunno," she answered, while shrugging.

I sighed irritably. Things just weren't going my way. Kasumi cleared her throat, obliviously wanting to say something. I looked at her attentively. 

"I've been thinking…" she began, "about Hyuuga kissing Sakura _after_ you." I kept staring at her, signaling for her to go on.

"I think…he might really like you," she said. I stared at her in disbelief and opened my mouth to say something, but Kasumi beat me to it.

"And when you didn't respond like pretty much every other girl would, he tried to make you jealous by kissing one of your best friends," Kasumi finished with finality.

I sat there for a little bit, processing this through my head. I finally said:

"That…actually makes sense."

She smiled and said with a more serious face on (If you can be more serious when you're smiling…" : 

"I really think you should tell Ino and Hinata."

I looked at her with a look of outrage on my face.

"Are you insane? Hinata wouldn't understand, and you know that Ino and Sakura have been friends since, like, pre-k! If I told Ino she would tell Sakura and she would be _freaking pissed!_" I yelled at her.

"True. But Ino _is_ the expert on all this stuff, and she could really help us. Besides, we could make her swear that she won't tell anyone. Especially Sakura," Kasumi replied calmly.

I thought about it for a minute. It _did_ make sense. I sighed. 

"Fine."

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"Hey, Ino?" Kasumi said into the phone.

_Yeah, Kasumi?_

"Can Tenten and I come over today?"

_Yeah, sure! Should I call Hina and Forehead?_

"Call Hina, but not Sakura, 'Kay?"

_Uh…sure. Why can't I call Forehead?_

"We need to talk to you and Hina privately."

_Okay. Bye!_

"Bye."

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_Outside of the Yamanaka household_

_Saturday_

_12:37 P.M._

We pulled up to the curb in front of Ino's house. I smiled at Mrs. Uchiha and said:

"Bye Mrs. Uch- I mean, Mitoko!" 

"Bye, mom."

"Bye Tenten! Bye honey! Call if you need anything!" Mrs. Uchiha said, while waving.

Kasumi looked at me and said,

"Are you ready?" I took a deep breath.

"Yeah."

We walked up onto Ino's porch and rang the doorbell. Ino answered clad in a purple tank top with a plain white t-shirt underneath, and a jean skirt.

"Hi, guys! Come on in!"

We walked in, and headed straight up to Ino's room, saying hello to the blonde's dad on our way up.

"Hey, Hinata-Chan!" Kasumi and I greeted in unison.

"H-Hi!" Hinata said back.

"How's it going?"

"Good."

"Good…good…" 

A rare awkward silence rested between us. Finally, Ino broke the silence with a cry of:

"Why couldn't we invite Forehead?"

Six pairs of eyes fell on Ino. Kasumi glanced at me.

"Do you want me to tell them, or do you want to?" she asked. I sighed.

"I'll do it."

"Okay," Kasumi said, walking over and taking a seat on Ino's purple, fluffy bed. I took a deep breath and let it out.

"I kissed Hyuuga Neji."

Hinata and Ino stared at me. Golden silence. Finally, Ino had one of those slow smiles that spreads across your face in a kind of creepy way. She then burst out laughing. I gave Kasumi and Hinata a confused look, as if to say "What the hell is she laughing about?" They shrugged in response.

"That's a good one!" Ino choked out between laughter. "How did you guys keep a straight face when saying that?"

I looked over at Hinata to see if she thought of it as a joke as well. Nope. She looked dead serious.

"Ino, this isn't a joke," Kasumi said, equally as serious as Hinata and I. The blonde stopped laughing immediately.

"You really kissed him?" she said, eyebrows raised.

"Yup," I answered as calm as I could be right at this moment. After a short pause, in which I think Ino was thinking the situation over, she said:

"I didn't think you had it in you! I mean stabbing a friend in the back is huge! Even _I_ haven't done that."

"I-Ino-san! I'm sure T-Tenten-san didn't d-do it on purpose. Did you?" Hinata looked across the room, telling me to answer the question.

"Of course I didn't kiss him purposely! And when I did, it was _before_ Sakura and Neji were dating."

"Oh," Ino said. "Well, that just ruins the fun part of it."

"Ino!" We all cried in unison.

"Sorry! I suppose you don't want Hina or I to tell Forehead?"

"What do you think?" Kasumi replied, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. 

"Alright I won't tell anyone."

"Neither will I."

"Then it's settled."

"Anyone wanna go to the mall?"

"INO!"

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_At school_

_Wednesday_

_7:01 A.M. _

I'm sitting at our usual table waiting for everyone to show up. I'm always the first one here. Normally, my mom drives me to school and she has to get to work at 6:50. There fore, I'm always really early. I look up from my book and turn off my green ipod. I see Hinata and Neji walking towards the table I am currently occupying. I take a deep breath.

_You can do this!_

"O-Ohayo, Tenten-san," Hinata greets me.

"Ohayo, Hinata." I greet back. I then do something I normally wouldn't have the courage to do. I say good morning to Neji Hyuuga. 

"Konichiwa, Neji."

"Hn," he grunts back. 

I GOT A GRUNT! VICTORY! I then start happy dancing in my mind...turns out it wasn't just in my mind.

"Tenten, why are you dancing on the table on which we eat?"

I stop happy dancing and look down to see Ino Yamanaka standing there with and eyebrow raised.

"Hehe..." I laughed nervously and jumped off the table landing gracefully. 

I then expect Kasumi to come running up, racing her brother to see who can get to the table first, but instead Sakura says a brief hello and goes running off to Neji.

"Has anyone seen Kasumi?" I asked, looking first to Hinata then Ino.

"Nope."

"No."

I shrugged and continued to read my book. 10 minutes passed when Ino said,

"Who's that girl walking with Sasuke?" Without looking up from my book I said,

"Maybe he finally got a girlfriend."

"Nah, she looks like Mitoko." At that comment my head snapped up from _Summer Sisters_ by Judy Blume. Sure enough a girl that had and uncanny resemblance to Mrs. Uchiha was walking alongside Sasuke.

As they neared us I got a better look at her. She was wearing the same jeans that Kasumi always wore, she had a t-shirt on that had 'I'm sorry, I'm not fluent in idiot' embroidered on it. She also had on Kasumi's black all stars. The girl plopped down on the seat next to Hinata, which was across from me.

"Hey," the-girl-who-could-be-Mrs.-Uchiha said.

"Hi...?" We all said in unison. After an awkward silence Ino finally cried out,

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" We all stared at her.

"You couldn't be any quieter than that, could you?" I asked.

"Sorry."

Then the-girl-who-could-be-Mrs.-Uchiha's-doppleganger **(sp?)** said 

"What do you mean 'Who the hell am I!' I'm Kasumi."

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**AN/End chappie! I'm reeeeeeally sorry for the reeeeeeally late update. In my profile it says why. That 's right. I'm not gonna tell you why. You have to go to my profile to see.:P Anyways, I'm really sorry and hope you guys review and V-O-T-E!**

**Peace. Love. Happiness.**

**KiwiBlossom.**


	5. Chapter 5:Practicing

Do You Love Me

My Typical What?

I don't own Naruto.

**Authoress Note: Enjoy the chappie. I forgot to mention these in the previous chapters. I do not own **_Don't Stop the Music_ **by** Rihana **or** _Barbie Girl _**by** Aqua.

"Talking"

_Thinking/lyrics/flashbacks_

**Inners/Authoress' notes**

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_School Bathroom_

_8:17 A.M._

"I never thought that Kasumi would be one to get plastic surgery. Especially to look like her mom," Ino said, pondering over the thought of Kasumi getting surgery.

"I didn't get plastic surgery, Ino."

"Then you must have wanted to look more like a person from the Uchiha clan, and you dyed your hair!" Ino exclaimed as if it was the simplest and most obvious answer in the world.

"No!" the-girl-who-used-to-be-a-brunette said, exasperated. Kasumi stood up, hopping over the bench gracefully. **(the tables are round and granite with the granite bench rapping around the table.)** She stalked off towards the school. I stood up as well, attempting to hop over the bench with equal grace. (I tripped and almost fell on my face.) I jogged lightly to catch up with Kasumi, Hinata and Ino right behind me. I caught a glimpse of her-now-raven-hair going into the bathroom. I followed, once again, Ino and Hinata hot on my heels.

I walked in to see Kasumi leaning over the sink, a curtain of raven hair covering her face.

"Kasumi?" I asked. She looked up, nodding her head at me, acknowledging my existence unlike most of this schools population.

"Why did you dye your hair?" I said this quietly, secretly hoping she wouldn't hear me. She laughed without any humor in her usually light, bubbly laugh.

"I didn't dye it." We all must have looked relatively confused because she went on to explain.

"I already did dye it...brown." We all stared at her, once again, in confusion. She took a deep breathy sigh.

"I hate looking like an Uchiha so I dye my hair every few months to make me look different. I was dyeing my hair last night and planned on dyeing the tips of my hair purple while I was at it. My mom smelled the dye, came up to the bathroom and caught me 'purple handed'." She put air quotes around the word "purple-handed".

"My mom said I'm not allowed to dye my hair until I move out."

We stood there in the bathroom trying to figure out some way to make the situation better. After another golden silence, Hinata found a silver lining in this gloomy cloud we called a friend.

"Your eyes are still different from the rest of your clan!" she said some-what optimistically. Kasumi laughed that same non-humorous laugh. She took out a small container that would normally hold contacts. The now raven-haired girl unscrewed the lids and gently touched her eye, taking out a contact in the process. Ino stared at the girl in horror because it looked almost like Kasumi was removing her eye. After she was finished, she turned to look at us with beautiful onyx eyes.

"Even my eyes aren't real," she said with a chuckle. I opened my mouth to say something – anything – but was silenced by the bell.

"We b-better get to c-class," Hinata said. We all nodded.

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_Homeroom_

_8:39 A.M._

Mr. Hatake is late. Again. I don't know why I even bother thinking that he'll be early or on time one day. I glance over to see a whole bunch of guys walking up to Kasumi and saying stuff like,

Guy: "Hey didn't we go on a date once? Or was it twice?"

Kasumi: "Must have been once, I'd never make the same mistake twice."

or

Guy: "Is this seat empty?"

Kasumi: "Yes, and this one will be if you sit down."

I can tell she's getting aggravated. I think I'll listen to the latest pick-up line this guy is about to say. He walks up to Kasumi's desk, leaning on it as if they were already dating.

"Hey baby, what's your sign?" he asked casually in a husky voice, attempting to get her attention.

"Leave and never come back," Kasumi replied, with a sweet-as-sugar smile, fake of course. She flipped a page of her book, signaling that the conversation was over. The guy turned on his heel, and stormed off. Enough of that. I think Kasumi might kill the next guy who tries to put his "moves" on her.

I redirect my attention to Hinata who is...reading...and being totally anti-social...again. Sigh. Moving on. I look over at Ino. Flirting. Again. My friends are so predictable. I scan the room for something interesting to watch. My eyes fall on Sakura and Neji...being cuddly...I think I might puke.

"Tenten, if you can't handle them dating, why are you watching them be all lovey-dovey?"

I teared my eyes off of Sakura and Neji to see Kasumi sitting next to me. I sighed heavily.

"It's not my fault. I was just looking around to see if there was anything interesting to watch," I said in a reasonable voice.

"But it is your fault that you choose to continually watch them," Kasumi pointed out.

"Shut up," I said with a glare. She shrugged, putting her hands up in an apologetic way. Finally, Mr. Hatake walked in.

"Hello class! Sorry I'm late, I got lost on the road of li-" He was cut off by the whole class, led by Naruto, yelling, "LIAR!!"

He ran a hand through his silver hair.

"We have a new student! Please give a warm welcome to Temari and her brother Kankuro!" He said in a voice similar to that of an announcer's. In walked a girl with four sandy blonde pigtails, jeans, and a purple "BillaBong" t-shirt. Over all, she looked like a pretty normal person. Her brother, on the other hand, had a strange hat on that oddly resembled cat ears. The rest of his outfit was pretty normal.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!"

Everyone turned their heads to stare at the person who let out the banshee scream. Said person happened to be the one and only Ino Yamanaka. With a manicured nail pointed straight at Temari, she shrieked,

"The bitch is back!"

"Ino-san!" Hinata said, a disbelieving look on her lovely face. The lavender eyed girl hurriedly pulled her down, Ino still fuming. Temari smirked.

"So, you haven't forgotten, huh?" she said, her voice smooth as velvet. I shot Kasumi a confused look. She nudged her head I Shikamaru Nara's direction. The normally lazy genius was sitting stiff in his chair, knuckles white from gripping the edge of his desk. I mouthed "oh" to Kasumi even though I was still as confused.

Turning to Mr. Hatake, Temari used her near magical voice to some how convince Mr. Hatake to come sit with us. (So what, if we were the only desk in the classroom with a seat open? I still say she sweet-talked her way into sitting next to us!) She walked down in between the rows as if it were a catwalk. She slid gracefully into the seat next to Kasumi, not tripping at all, unlike me.

"Seeing that class will be over soon, everyone can just do whatever they want!" Mr. Hatake announced, sat down and took out his little orange novel.

"Hi, I'm Temari," Temari said, being anything but bitchy, sticking out her hand. Kasumi shook her hand cautiously, as if her touch would give her a horrible disease.

"I'm Kasumi and this is Tenten," Kasumi introduced, gesturing to me when she said my name.

"Hi." We sat in an awkward silence, not golden...awkward. Finally, the bell rang. In other words...FREEDOME! Kasumi and I practically sprinted to the door, almost crashing into a hesitant Hinata and an irritated Ino.

"I can _not believe_ she has the _gall_ to come back!" Ino shrieked, frightening most of the freshmen.

"Ino, calm down!" Kasumi said, rubbing the girl's back.

"I will _not_ calm down! Why the hell would that bitch even think of coming back!? I _hate_ her!" Ino screeched, yet again.

"Why do you hate her, Ino? Because she got the one thing that you never could?" Kasumi had her hands on her hips, pointedly staring at the blonde. Ino stopped in her tracks causing me to bump into her.

"Th-that was h-harsh, Kasumi-chan," Hinata said quietly. Kasumi whipped around to half glare at the lavender eyed Hyuuga.

"She needs to know that it's not going to vanish like that!" she hissed, snapping her fingers at the end of her sentence. Hinata stood there in silence, while Ino stood as still as statue.

"Let's just get to class," I said pushing Hinata and Ino lightly, Kasumi walking like a normal person. We sat down in our usual seats. Kasumi turned to face me.

"So, are you still in for the talent show?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Huh?" My reply was confused.

"The gang is going to enter in the Spring Talent Show. Are you in?"

"Uhh...yeah, sure."

"Great!"

"So, what are we doing?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"We're probably going to reenact 'It Sucks to be Me' by Avenue Q."

"Cool."

"Attention class! Stop talking! ATTENTION!" Asuma Sarutobi yelled. The full class of teens' attention was now fully on Mr. Sarutobi.

"Thank you. I can now begin my lesson."

I tried to focus on Asuma's lesson, but I couldn't help but glance over at Sakura and Neji. Omigod. Are they making out? In the middle of Asuma's lesson? That is so wrong.

"Are Sakura and Neji going to be in the talent show with us?" I whispered to Kasumi.

"They said they were, but that was before they started going out," she replied. "It might be difficult to practice with Neji swallowing Sakura's tongue every 10 minutes, though."

"Maybe we should kick them out?" I asked a little two eagerly.

"We can't. Sakura is one of the lead roles. She plays Kate."

"Oh...Can we replace her with Ino? They have similar voices."

"Can't. Ino plays Rod. We changed it to Rebecca, though."

"Oh well, we'll just have to deal with them making out every 5 seconds."

She laughed silently. (If that's possible.) Mr. Sarutobi just stared right at us. We both stopped our muffled giggles. He opened his mouth to yell at us, probably, but was cut off by the bell.

"And the legendary saying 'saved by the bell' is applied here," Kasumi said, getting up from her seat. I smiled and laughed slightly at her sarcasm.

"Come on, let's get to Algebra." she looped her arm around my shoulders as we walked to Kurenai Yuuhi's algebra class.

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_Cafeteria_

_12:06 P.M._

The rest of my classes passed by in a blur. We are quietly eating our..."lunch." I sat down next to Ino, who had been uncharacteristically quiet after her "little" fit in the hall way.

"So when are we g-going t-to practice f-for the talent show?" Hinata smiled gently at us.

"When ever everybody can make it to practice, I guess." Kasumi shrugged and picked up a piece of sushi, popping it into her mouth. She looked at Ino and I.

"Can you guys practice after school today?" I nodded my head. Ino paused for a minute before replying with her usual cheerful voice back.

"Yeah! I've got nothing better to do..." Sakura then waltzed into the cafeteria, floating almost. She floated over to our table, taking a seat in between Hinata and Kasumi. Kasumi glanced uncomfortably in Sakura's direction.

"Hey girls." Sakura greeted us with a dreamy expression on her face.

"Hi...?" We all said in unison.

"Why are you so happy?" Ino folded her hands in her lap staring at Sakura with anxious, gossip-hungry eyes.

"Huh? Oh..." she took a deep breath. "Neji asked me-"

"TO MARRY HIM?!" Ino screamed, shattering everybody's eardrums. We all gave her weird looks. Hinata sighed.

"I-Ino-san I don't th-think Sakura-s-san would g-get married when she i-is in high school." Hinata touched her fingers together like she did when Naruto was around or when she was nervous. Sakura sighed as well.

"Your right, Hinata. Neji _didn't_ as me to marry him." She took a deep breath. "He asked me to be his...girlfriend!" She scanned each of us with expectant eyes. In turn, we stared blankly back at her. Kasumi cleared her throat.

"That's...great, Sakura," I choked out. I think I might cry. I blink a few times to get rid of the tears that have accumulated in my brown eyes.

"Great? It's fantastic! Finally a guy who likes me for me not what I look like!" Sakura grinned, showing off her perfect white teeth. I caught myself glaring at her.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go sit with _my_ boyfriend!" The rosette stood up, climbed elegantly over the bench, and sashayed over to Neji's table.

"I can not believe her! She is such a bi-" Ino began but was cut off by Temari strutting over to our table.

"Hi! Can I sit here?" Sandy blonde pigtails blowing in the breeze, she set her cafeteria tray down on our table originally where Sakura was sitting just moments before.

"Sure." Kasumi was the first to respond. Ino shot her an incredulous look. Temari slipped into the seat between Hinata and Kasumi.

"I couldn't help but over hear that you guys are entering in the talent show. I was just wondering what you guys were gonna do."

"It is none of _your_ business, Temari," Ino snarled. Kasumi shot her a look her way.

"We're probably going to reenact 'It Sucks to Be Me' by Avenue Q."

"Cool! Do you need another girl? I'm free." Temari sounded sincere. Damn, I want to know what happened between her and Ino...

"That's really nice of you, Temari, but we have..." her eyes scanned over the cafeteria and rested on Sakura. "One spot open that needs to be filled. How do you feel about playing Rod?" Ino gaped at Kasumi.

"B-B-But that's _my_ spot!"

"Yeah, but if we give it to Temari then you can have Sakura's role and we won't have to deal with Neji swallowing Sakura's tongue...and vice-versa."

"Awesome! When is practice?"

"Today, after school."

"Great, I'll see you guys then." She climbed over the bench with grace that rivaled Sakura.

"Bye," We all said in unison, turning around to watch her meet up with Kankuro.

Turning around to face, a smile plastered on her face, Kasumi said, "Mission Make-Out accomplished!"

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_Gymnasium_

_On Stage_

_4:07 P.M._

We're rehearsing for the Talent Show and so far things are not going well. Okay, we have gotten through the whole song, but...we're arguing...a lot. Ino is trying to figure out a way to tell Sakura that she's out of the group without hurting her feelings. Good luck with that, Ino. Kasumi and Gaara are arguing quietly in the corner. Ino believes they are secretly dating (Yeah right!) or fighting is their twisted way of flirting. Oh shit! I must have missed something. I hear yelling.

_Glances in both directions_

Maybe...just maybe...Sakura found out that Temari stole her part...?

I jog out to where everyone is standing (a.k.a center stage).

"So, did someone tell Sakura that Temari is taking her part?" I asked, looking at everybody's expressions to see looks of shock (Sakura), looks of horror (a large portion of the room), and looks of confusion (most of the guys). Sakura slowly turns around, a look on her face similar to that of a horror movie.

"What did you just say?"

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**Authoress' Notes: Well, that's it. I think I might put this story on hold and start a different one. Might. Or I might try to do both. Doubt it. That's it. I can't think of anything to write about in my notes today.**

**Peace. Love. Happiness.**

**KiwiBlossom. **


	6. Chapter 6:Drawing Straws

Do You Love Me

My Typical What?

I don't own Naruto.

**Authoress Note: Winner of the vote: InoxKiba. I'll try to incorporate the Inuzuka into the story. If not, it'll just have to be InoxShika. Don't like it, don't read it. **

"Talking"

_Thinking/lyrics/flashbacks_

**Inners/Authoress' notes**

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_Gym_

_On Stage_

_4:09 P.M._

I stood there with my mouth open, and all I could manage out of my mouth was, "Uh. Um." Ino had on a look of absolute horror, as did Hinata, Kasumi looked like she knew it was coming, and all the guys looked very confused – minus Neji and Sasuke, who were quietly standing in the corner of the stage.

"I said, 'what did you say?'" Sakura said through clenched teeth.

"Uh. Um. I...What?" I now had a look of confusion on my face, as if _I_didn't know what _I_ had said.

"Sh-she said that T-Temari-san r-replaced you," Hinata's soft voice was heard from another corner of the stage. Sakura's face contorted from anger to hurt in a matter of seconds.

"W-w-why would you guys replace me?" Sakura looked at us with a wounded expression, like we had just slapped her across the face multiple times.

"Oh God, Sakura _please_ don't be like this," Kasumi said, shaking her head. I think some of the other guys figured out that _Sakura_ had just been replaced.

"How could you replace Sakura-chan without talking with us?!" Naruto threw his hands up in the air, looking disappointed at us.

"We couldn't help but want to replace her!" Kasumi cried out. "She and Neji are making out every 5 seconds and we can't get any work done!"

"You still should have consulted with us before you made a decision, Kasumi," Gaara stated smoothly.

"Since when did you care who was in _or_ out, Gaara?" Kasumi stood facing Gaara, hands on hips.

"I don't. I just think it's important that - as a group - we talk about things like this." Ino leaned over to me and sang:

"Secret way of flirting!"

I sang back: "You are joking!" Ino rolled her eyes at me and continued to watch the two bicker. My eyes searched the large gymnasium for some form of escape. My eyes rested on the door that I had entered about an hour before. I inched closer and closer towards the end of the stage. _No one sees me! _

I jumped off the stage and sprinted to the door, Ino hot on my heels. 9 feet. 6 feet. 2 feet. Reaching for the handle...! My hand reached for the handle, but when I "grasped" it, in my hand there was nothing there but air. Soon after I realized someone had opened the door. A moment after, said door swung open and hit me right in the face.

I lay there as if I was in a movie and someone hit pause. I glanced at the group on the stage, who had seem to have noticed I had tried to make a run for it. While everyone was giving me strange looks, Naruto stood there scratching his head, utterly confused.

"Hey Tenten." I glanced up and there - in all her sassy glory – stood Temari Sabaku.

"Temari?"

"Sorry I'm late for practice. I had to _deal _with my brother. She glared in the direction behind the door, which opened to reveal the freaky-cat-like-hat-wearing Kankuro. I heard Ino snicker at said boy, due to his hat, I presume.

"That's okay. You haven't missed much." Ino sneaked a peak at what was going on on stage. "They've just been flir- I mean, _fighting_ this whole time."

Temari nodded her head and looked towards the stage. "So this is what you guys have been doing for the past forty-five minutes?" Ino and I nodded our heads, which caused my head to spin. "Huh. Never thought I would see my little brother flirting. Especially with an Uchiha." I turned my head around so fast that I think I gave myself whiplash.

"What?" Ino and I stood (sat) there in shock. Temari rolled her eyes.

"I should have known," she muttered. Big sigh. "Fighting is Gaara's way of showing _affection. _We fight all the time." Temari's eyebrows knitted together in concentration. "Actually, I think that's how it is for most quiet guys." I heard myself muffle my laughter.

"If fighting is a secret way of flirting for quiet guys, Neji and Sasuke would be screwing each other right now," Ino stated, trying not to laugh. Temari shrugged, as if she didn't care. I glanced at Ino. She had a look of longing in her eyes. As if she wanted to be Temari, to be _like_ Temari. I sat there on my butt looking back and forth between the two blondes.

"Uh, a little help?" The blondes continued to be in there trance-like state, while Kankuro helped me up. I smiled warmly at him. He smiled back. After what seemed like an hour Ino abruptly turned to face the stage.

"Will you two stop flirting long enough for us to get some work done!?" Ino's high voice could be heard across a baseball field if she tried, so it was no surprise when Kasumi's face turned a lovely shade of scarlet. Surprisingly, Gaara's face – although the colour was not quite as drastic – also had a slight tint of pink to his cheeks.

Ino sashayed over to the stage, hopping onto it elegantly. I followed her like a lost puppy only with much less grace. Temari also strutted towards the stage, climbing up just as ele

"Maybe, - and I'm just suggesting this – we shouldn't perform as one big group," Ino said. She looked at everyone to see there reaction. I saw Hinata repeatedly purse her lips. Kasumi adjusted her hat so that it sat backwards on her head, both bad habits. Sakura looked mad as hell again, yet, also, utterly confused.

"We c-could v-vote on i-i-it." Hinata's soft voice was heard just barely. Everyone nodded. This is how the vote went:

Naruto:Stay together.

Sasuke and Neji: Did not vote.

Shikamaru:Said he'd vote whichever way won. If that didn't work then he voted whatever way Hinata voted.

Gaara:Voted to break up because – and I quote - "I never wanted to do this anyway."

Ino:Break up.

Hinata:Together

Sakura:Together.

Temari:Break up.

Kasumi:Break up.

I sighed heavily. It was up to me. I couldn't decide. I thought about it. If we stay together, I'll have to deal with seeing Sakura and Neji together all the time. If we break up, I'll have a great time with my friends and won't have to humiliate myself in front of the whole school. Choice is obvious.

"I vote...to break up."

Cheers and groans could be heard echoing throughout the gym. A lot of the people didn't looked that shocked. Am I that predictable?

"I kind of figured you'd vote that way," Temari said, a smile on her face.

Apparently I am. A girl I just met has already calculated my every move. I sighed. Suddenly, something hit me. (Not literally, of course.) It dawned on me that even though we, the people, had voted to break up, we couldn't back out of the talent show. Which means, that one of the groups would have to perform anyways. I sighed again, massaging my temples. Better break the news.

"Hey, you guys, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we _still_ kinda have to perform." Everyone stared blankly at me. "On stage." More blank stares. "In front of of the _whole_ school." Blank stares. I explained to them the "plan" I had formed in my mind. A chorus of "ohs" (minus Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru) after my explanation. Nobody knew how to choose who should perform. Silence. More silence.

"We could...draw straws...?"

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_Sabaku Residence_

_Temari's room_

_4:58 P.M._

We're all sitting in a semi-circle in Temari's room (Much against Kasumi's thoughts and wishes.). Why are we sitting in a semi-circle? you ask. Because Ino _insisted_ on picking the straw, claiming that she _always_ got the correct straw. And we – being the gullible idiots we are – decided to _believe_ her.

Wanna know which one she picked? The short one. The freaking_ short one._

"Sorry, you guys. I thought that you were supposed to pick the short one." Ino shrugged her shoulders. A chorus of sighs.

"So what are we going to do for the talent show." I said this quietly, praying that no one would have a fit because I even _mentioned_ the fact that we had to memorize, whatever we were going to do, in a week. Thoughtful silence.

"We could, I dunno, sing or dance or something." Sakura said this with a shrug of her shoulders. Everyone nodded their heads thoughtfully.

"There is one _tiny_ flaw in your," - pause for quotation marks with fingers - "'master plan.' We still don't know what we're going sing, who is going to take what parts of said song, AND we don't know if we can even spread the parts out evenly throughout the seven of us." Kasumi said these things with flourish.Nodding on everyone's behalf again.

"How about we listen to our iPods, or whatever, and see any songs that would work?" I said this with a hopeful, wide-eyed innocence. A chorus of 'yeah's. Everyone took out their music players. The listening began.

Silence.

Silence.

Sile-

"I got it!"

The girls directed their heads to face Ino. She took a deep breath. "Get ready for this," she said, the excitement in her eyes evident. "We will perform..." pause for dramatic effect. "'Respect' by Aretha Franklin!" Ino's saphire eyes jumped to every person in the room.

"Are you kidding?" Kasumi looked shocked that Ino would even _suggest_ that song. "Do you know how...difficult that song is? I don't think anyone here can sing 'Respect'. We need something different. Simpler."

Back to listening.

"How 'bout 'I Want You to Want Me' by Cheap Trick?" Temari raised an eyebrow. I glanced at all of the girls. They seemed to be liking this song better.

"That's a good idea. I mean, it's not challenging vocally, it's fun and something we would choose. We can dance to it and not look like complete idiots. I think...it works," Sakura said, nodding her head the whole time. "It definitely works."

My eyes immediately flew to Kasumi, who seemed to be the harshest critic of all of us. She was nodding her head in approval. "So it's unanimous!" I exclaimed, my happiness bubbling over.

"WAIT!" Ino held up her hands in a halt-or-forever-hold-your-peace kind of way. Ino looked royally pissed off.

"Why don't we look for something a _liiitle_ more difficult. Vocally, I mean." We all either scoffed, rolled our eyes, or sighed. We went back to enjoying the music flowing out of our headphones.

"How a-a-about 'How Many Times, How Many Lies' by The Pussycat Dolls?" Hinata nervously toyed with her fingers. A smile spread across my face.

"I love that song!" Sakura and I both yelled. Our eyes locked and I smiled. I haven't felt this close to Sakura in a long time. It felt nice. All the girls nodded their heads.

"It's brilliant. It's hard but not to hard. It's fun and we could dance to it. It's just...brilliant!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Now is it unanimous?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes!" they all shouted at me. I beamed.

"Let's start practicing!" Temari and Ino chanted, one hand thrust in the air. "Woo!"

"Follow me! We can go print off the lyrics in my brother's room!"

The troop moved out all the way...across the hall. Once in Kankurou's room (Thankfully, not Gaara's room.), the group did said thing (printing the lyrics). We began to sort out the parts and the choreography.

"Guys! We could rock the old school mics!" Kasumi exclaimed.

"Old school mics?" We all stared at her, not comprehending what she was talking about. Kasumi rolled her eyes.

"You know, the microphones that can't be taken apart and they have this..." she trailed off at seeing our blatantly confused faces. The Uchiha girl rolled her eyes, yet again. "Just let me show you," she muttered.

Climbing to her feet, Kasumi walked across the hall. We heard her open Kankurou's door. "Kankurou, I need your computer for a minute."

"Pfft. I'm not giving YOU my computer for a _second_ let alone for a minute!" We heard a crash and a seat creaking slightly as someone sat down in the seat. And let me tell you, it wasn't Kankurou's ass in that chair.

"Guys! Come in here and see what I mean!" Kasumi called. The troop moved over to Kankurou's room to see said boy lying on th floor glaring up at Kasumi.

The girls huddled around the electronic device to look at a picture of Christina Aguilara in her music video for "Ain't No Other Man."

"A picture of a pop sensation, other wise known as Christina Aguilara. Wow. Interesting," I said. Roll of eyes. Kasumi clicked the mouse twice on the picture, blowing it up.

"See?" She gestured to the blown-up picture. We looked at the alleged picture and saw exactly what Kasumi meant. The old-school mic on the picture was brilliant.

"I-it would be l-like mixing the old with the n-new! I love it!" Hinata grinned as did Kasumi.

"You guys like it?" She glanced at all of us briefly for approval.

"Yeah, it's great! It would totally be, like...a statement," Ino said. Temari appeared next to Ino with phone book in hand.

"Ladies, let's get it started!"

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**Authoress Note: It's a little shorter than usual, but someone told me to update so...yeah. It's kind of (well, it actually is) a filler chapter. Next chappie I think I'll have the performance and we'll see what the prize is!:D **

**Also, Karin will be making a appearance. I don't honestly know what her personality is like, seeings that she was only in the manga for a few chappies. Let me know if she seems OOC.**

**In other news, I need you guys to vote again (sorry!). I would like to start another story and I can't decide which. I have my ideas posted on my profile and if it's not too much trouble for you guys to take a look and vote on which one you like best, it would be great! Thanks!**

**KiwiBlossom**


	7. Chapter 7:Clubbing

Do You Love Me

My Typical What?

I don't own Naruto.

I don't own the song So Happy by Theory of a Dead Man either.

**Authoress' Note: I don't know what to say right now. I'll talk at the bottom. **

"Talking"

_Thinking/lyrics/flashbacks_

**Inners/Authoress' notes**

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_Miyagami Highschool_

_Mr. Hatake's classroom_

_9:34 A.M._

Good God. How could Tsunade even hire this guy? He just sits there and reads his perverted book. How did he pass his teacher's test? If he just seduced the teacher I'm going to have a word with the principal.

"Tenten? What are you glaring at?"

My eyes noticed a masculine hand waving in my face. I smiled. "Sorry, Kankurou. I was just wondering how in hell did Mr. Hatake get his teaching degree," I said and smiled at the boy.

"Ten, I ask myself the same question everyday. Along with what the hell is that book about?" he grinned cheekily at me. I punched him on the arm.

"You're such a pervert!" He laughed.

"So, when are you guys going to practice again?" he asked, his eyes full of curiosity. I groaned.

"Don't even start about practice. Sakura and Ino have been all over our asses. 'Practice now, homework later!' I think my God damn education is a little more important than winning a stupid talent show!" I exclaimed. Kankurou nodded his head sympathetically.

Amazingly, Kankurou knew how I felt. He had attended every single practice we've had (Shocking, isn't it?). I don't really get why, but it's sweet of him. Although, this has contributed to our friendship. I never realized how nice it is to have a guy friend...

"Hey, Tenten, we've got a practice after school!" Temari called to me. I nodded my head with a fake smile on my face. I looked at Kankurou who was grinning stupidly.

"Well, I guess our next practice is after school."

-x-X-x-

_Gym_

_On stage_

_3:30 P.M._

"How many times, how many lies," we belted out the last few words to our song. I was surprised to hear not just one pair of hands clapping for once. Instead of just Kankurou applauding our performance, a whole group of guys were. The group included a bored looking Neji and Sasuke, an over-excited Naruto and the rarely-seen Kiba Inuzuka, a tired Shikamaru, and an irritated Gaara.

"You guys were great!" Kankurou exclaimed. "First place for sure." I beamed. Sasuke smirked slightly.

"Sakura, you were off. You should work on that," he said. Kasumi was by him in a second, socking him in the arm. "Asshole," she muttered.

I saw Neji growl under his breath. Is he mad at Sasuke for making a move on – grimace – his girl? Or is he mad because Kankurou congratulated and smiled at me the most? OR, am I imagining all this and going completely insane? The last one makes the most sense...I think.

We said our goodbye's, couples leaving with couples (or soon-to-be couples, and yes, I'm talking to YOU, Ino.) I slowly made my departure from the gym. I heard the soft tapping of someone's footsteps. Kankurou shortly appeared by my side. He gave me a toothy grin.

"Hey."

"Hi."

We walked together in silence for a few minutes. Finally, I abruptly turned to him and said, "Don't you live in the opposite direction of my house?"

He laughed, but it sounded forced. "Yeah."

"Then, why are you walking with me?" I asked.

"Can't a guy walk his best girlfriend home?" he inquired.

"Not when they live on the other side of town!" I exclaimed. He laughed more naturally this time and admitted defeat.

"Alright, alright. I'll go home. But tomorrow, I'm walking you home."

"Fine."

-x-X-x-

**Sharingan123 says: **Hey, how's it going?

**WeaponsMistress says: **Hi. Nothin' much

**WeaponsMistress says: **Hey, Kasumi, what does 'sharingan' mean?

**Sharingan123 says:** I dunno. I was looking for some names and this word came up. I thought it was kinda cool so I used it. I think it used to be some ancient eye technique in Japan.

**WeaponsMistress says: **Ancient eye technique?

**Sharingan123 says:** Yeah. You know, ninja stuff and shit.

**WeaponsMistress says: **Oh. That makes sense. I guess.

_**TheBlondeBombshell **__has just signed in_

**Sharingan123 says: **Hold on, I'm gonna add Ino to the convo, 'kay?

_**TheBlondeBombshell **__has been added to the conversation_

**TheBlondeBombshell says: **Hey you guys!

**Sharingan123 says: **Ino, you are such a liar. You know you're not a bombshell.

**TheBlondeBombshell says:** Says who? I'm fine, and you know it.

**Sharingan123 says: **Whatever.

_**Fanskickass**_ _has just signed in_

**TheBlondeBombshell says: **...She can NOT talk to us.

**WeaponsMistress says: **Why not? Temari's cool.

**TheBlondeBombshell says: **hissssss Temari is NOT cool. SHE'S TRYING TO STEAL MY SHIKA!

**Weapons Mistress says: **Since when is he "yours"

**Sharingan123 says: **Since when is he "yours"

**TheBlondeBomshell says: **He's always been mine and I am quite sick of this conversation so you gals can go yuk it up with Temari for all I care.

_TheBlondeBombshell has signed out_

**Sharingan123 says: **Strange girl, that Ino is. But I have to go. The dads is throwing a fit. See ya homegirl.

_Sharingan123 has signed out_

**WeaponsMistress says: **BUT I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING! DON'T SIGN OUT!

-x-X-x-

**WeaponsMistress says: **...Bye.

_WeaponsMistress has signed out_

-x-X-x-

"So what did you want to tell me?" Kasumi asked the next day after our IM fiasco.

"Never mind. It was nothing important, anyway." Was my cool and totally blasé response. Kasumi shrugged and spotted Ino.

"Hey, Yamanaka! Where do you think you're going? Come sit with your buddies!" she called out to Ino. Ino rolled her eyes.

"Back to last names, I see."

"Oh please. Are you stilled miffed because we told you that Shikamaru isn't YOUR MAN?"

Ino scoffed and walked away curtly. Kasumi shrugged and acted as if nothing ever happened.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" Kasumi asked. I shrugged lazily.

"Nothing, probably. I'll just-"

"Be going out to dinner or a movie with moi, perhaps?" George grinned at me as he cut me off. I shot Kasumi a look that said get-me-the-hell-out-of-this-and-if-you-do-I'll-pay-you-lots-of-money. Kasumi nodded her head.

"Sorry George-y, my boy, but Tenten's got a date with the gymnasium stage tonight. Got to practice for the talent show. Want to secure the top spot!" Kasumi smiled at George. George nodded solemnly.

"I see. Well, do you mind if I watch? Just want to see what the competition is."

Kasumi looked at him, puzzled. "You're in the talent show?" George laughed.

"Doing what? Outside of football I've got no talents worth seeing on stage. I just like to watch the groups improve. It entertains me in a sick, twisted way." Kasumi laughed. "Have you watched Karin's group? They're actually pretty good. Surprising, no?" he admitted, that irresistible smile of straight, pearly white teeth flashing.

"Ah, I see. Well, I think you'll be quite satisfied with our performance," Kasumi said, giving him a glimpse of her equally beautiful and perfect smile.

"I'll see you there. You better not disappoint me."

After George disappeared around the corner, Kasumi turned toward me. "Why do you string the poor boy along? It's obvious he likes you. And it's cruel to keep making up excuses to avoid him."

"I know it is. But...I don't like George in that way. He's more of a guy friend, you know. He's a great guy and perfect 'boyfriend material' but he's just not the right guy for me." Kasumi rolled her eyes at my explanation. She linked arms with mine and walked away, towing me behind.

"I suppose we have to go book the gym...again."

-x-X-x-

_Cafeteria_

_Lunch_

_12:40 P.M._

"So that's why we have to do something tonight," Kasumi explained with finality. Everyone smiled and a hushed tone fell over the girls. Obviously, they were thinking of what we could do toni-. I looked at Ino, who was staring at a butterfly, flitting it's way across the cafeteria. She looked absolutely fascinated by the specimen. She snapped out of her trance-like state.

"I've got it. We'll...go clubbing!" Ino grinned at her "brilliant" idea.

"Ino, can we even get _in_ a club? I don't think we're old enough," Sakura said. "Besides, I can't go. I've got a date with Neji-kun."

I stiffened when she added the suffix to Neji's name. I redirected my line of vision towards the guys table. Sasuke was avoiding Naruto's finger, which had something disgusting – no doubt – on it. Neji and Gaara were watching with an unimpressed expres-sion. Shikamaru had a comical smile on his face as he watched Sasuke promptly smack Naruto on the head.

-x-X-x-

_Across the Cafeteria_

"So, you have to tutor Ino. Bummer," Naruto said while thoughtfully picked his nose.

"Why do you say that?" Shikamaru asked with a chuckle as he watched his blonde friend attempted to wipe his now snot-covered finger on Sasuke's back, who dodged it and smacked him on the back of the head with a disgusted look on his face.

"Because Ino has a...difficulty learning things." Naruto nodded his head in approval to his own anwer.

"Speak for yourself, dobe," Sasuke muttered.

"Teme!"

"Dobe."

"TEME!"

And so it goes on.

Shikamaru absently watched his friends bicker. His brown eyes soon grew tired of watching the classic argument between the two best friends, and redirected their gaze to Neji Hyuuga. The normally alert Hyuuga seemed to not notice being watched by our lazy strategist (or didn't bother to acknowledge the fact that he was). Neji's eyes were fixated on the girls' table. One bun-haired, panda-loving girl specifically. Neji looked away as Tenten's eyes met his. Shikamaru even detected a little hint of a blush on the emotionless boy. He smirked.

_Neji, what have you gotten yourself into._

-x-X-x-

What the hell is wrong with me! Why the fuck did I look over there! I knew he would notice and now my face is the same shade as a tomato! God, I'm an idiot.

-x-X-x-

Oh my God. Ino was serious. She actually wanted to go clubbing. Holy freakin' shit. What the hell do I do? Do I act calm and seductive (If I CAN act seductive.)? Or do I have a panic attack and start hyperventilating like Hinata is now? HOLY SHIT, HINATA'S HYPERVENTILATILATING! And cue me running around like a chicken with me head cut off.

"Tenten. Tenten! TENTEN!" Ino gripped my shoulders, stopping me from squirming. "Hinata went home. Something about 'too many people' and Mr. Hiashi said that, 'she might get raped! What were you thinking, bringing a young girl to a place like this?' ," Ino said, imitating Hinata's father's voice.

"Argh! How the hell are we supposed to get in to the place when the line's this freakin' long!?" Kasumi screamed, glaring at people who stared at her. Ino rolled her eyes.

"Dear, sweet, naïve, Kasumi, there is one way and one way only to get into a club like this." Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "We must...FLIRT OUR WAY TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE!" Ino cried, thrusting her head up high and pointing toward the sky.

"You're gotta be fucking kidding me." I shook my head. "I don't even know _how_ to flirt. Be realistic, Ino." Ino exhaled loudly.

"Fine. _I_ will flirt our way to the front of the line." And so, Ino set off on her seducing journey.

-x-X-x-

I can't believe she actually did it. Ino _actually_ flirted her way to the front of the line. She even got us in the club without paying!

That's right. I, Tenten, am in a club. Do not fear, for this is a club for teens. In other words, there are absolutely no alcoholic beverages in this place. The only possible way to get drunk is – maybe – if you get hyper from the juice.

"Hey, Tenten, come dance with me!" Kasumi hollered into my ear. The music is so loud it makes her shout sound like she's talking normally. I nod my head at her offer. Maybe this will make me look appealing to the opposite sex, and I can make Neji jealous! Wait. That never works. Whatever.

I follow Kasumi onto the dance floor. Everyone isn't even dancing. They're just jumping up and down or (gag) grinding up against each other. Kasumi proceeded to swish her head in time to the music.

_I'm so happy about you... (I'm fed up, so get up and get out)  
I'm so happy now we're through ... (I'm fed up, so get up and get out)  
I was so afraid, now you're gone away  
Sent you packing, look who's laughin' now  
I'm so happy that I feel this way  
I'm so happy that I threw you away_

I followed suit, bopping my head to the beat. I scanned the room for any creeps that might try to seduce (or worse) Kasumi and myself.

...

Creep search check! I began to loosen up and to get more into the music. I was so into it that I almost – operative word being 'almost' – failed to notice the rather masculine arms snake their way around my waist. I whipped around to slap the man who had touched me without my consent. I raised my hand, preparing to give this guy a piece of my mind. I felt the whoosh of the wind passing my hand as I went in for the kill. I waited to feel the firm connection of hand to cheek. I felt nothing but someone gripping my wrist. I looked at the accused man.

"Sasuke?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Okay, that was completely OOC. For Sasuke. I really don't know why I did that. Tell me if you hate it, tell me if you like it.**

**KiwiBlossom**


	8. Chapter 8:Bonding

Do You Love Me

My Typical What?

I don't own Naruto.

**Authoress' Note: Thanks for all the reviews! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this in the previous chapter. I dedicate this AND the other chapter to **_**GothicPetals**_** who reviewed for every chapter.**

"Talking"

_Thinking/lyrics/flashbacks_

**Inners/Authoress' notes**

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Club...Something-or-other_

_Uh, whatever time it is_

"Sasuke?" I repeated.

"Hush!" Sasuke dragged me off to the side of the club. He shoved me abruptly into the alley way.

"What the hell, Sasuke!?" Oh my God. What the fuck do I do? All the classes I took in self defense left my mind. What if Sasuke likes me? Oh, if I he does I am in a _biiiit_ of a pickle. He's staring at me weird. Why is he staring at me weird?

"Tenten? Are you going to help or not?" I tilted my head to the side.

"What? Help who?" I asked, extremely confused, not to mention slightly tipsy. Sasuke rolls his eyes. Is it just me or does Kasumi look almost exactly the same when SHE rolls her eyes?

"I really would rather not repeat what I've just expressed for the sake of my manhood," he replied.

"B-but I didn't hear you the first time..."

"Fine." Sigh. "I think...I'm jealous." I gaped at him, shocked.

"_You?! Jealous?!_"

"Yes. Me. Jealous. I'm jealous of...Hyuuga. You see," Pacing. "I – you honestly don't understand how hard this is for me to say – like Sakura Haruno. And that _stupid _Hyuuga has 'taken' her." He stopped abruptly from his pacing and turned sharply to face me. "And I want you to help me get Sakura from that Hyuuga." I gawked at Sasuke.

"Are you freakin' kidding me? I don't know anything about relationships. Let alone how to break people up!"

"I know that. But I also know that you like Hyuuga and I like Sakura. So if we work together to break them up we'll both get what we want," Sasuke concluded logically. I nodded my head.

"Okay...But I have one question for you." Sasuke raised a perfect (ly plucked) eyebrow. "Why'd you grab my waist?" Sasuke sighed loudly.

"They're here. I figured that our first try could be to make them envious."

"Of us?"

"Yes."

"Of our totally fake and artificial love?"

"Yes."

"Deal."

-x-X-x-

The evil sun pried its way through my closed windows, only to awaken my hungover self. Rubbing my head wearily, I walked towards my bathroom. _Why the hell am I hung over? There were no drinks at the club. _I glanced briefly at myself in the mirror then did a double take. _Good God, is that what I look like? _

My hair, normally in their two signature buns, was askew. Bags under my eyes made me look like I had been sleep deprived. The light make-up I had had on was smeared horrendously across my face. I unenthusiastically picked up a wash cloth. Running said cloth under water, I tried to recall what had happened prior to my "hang over." I squeezed my eyes shut in concentration.

I vaguely remember Sasuke talking to me about a plan. A plan to...break Neji and Sakura up? And we were supposed to act all lovey together? Right?

_Briiiing!_

"Honey! Can you get that?" my mom yelled at me from downstairs. My answer was an irritated grunt, scrambling off the bed to reach the phone.

"Hello?" was my tired greeting.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" A man's deep voice rang through the phone. It sounded formal, yet a little casual.

"Uh, yes?" I answered, confused.

"Sorry! I was just wondering how the meeting went last night," the mystery man asked.

"What...meeting?" I inquired, still slightly puzzled.

"What do you mean 'what meeting'? Am I talking to Mei-li (pronounced may lee) ?" Ah, it makes sense now.

"No, this is her daughter, Tenten."

"Ah! My apologies, Ms. Tenten."

"I'll pass you on to my mom." I ran downstairs to hand the phone to my mom. "Boss" I mouthed. She nodded.

"Hey Hiashi. Really? You think my daughter sound like me? No, I've never been told that..."

I ran back upstairs. I plopped my butt into my computer chair, turning on the device as well. Who says I'm not smooth? I signed into my account, checking to see who's online. Hmm...Sasuke has added me to his buddy list and is on. Me thinks we should have a talk.

**WeaponsMistress says: **Hey, Sasuke.

**SasukeUchiha says: **Hey. So, is the plan in action?

I sat in my cushion-y chair and stared at the screen blankly. Plan? What "plan?"

...

OH. THAT PLAN. God, I'm an idiot sometimes.

**WeaponsMistress says: **Yeah. Well, not yet technically. Seeing that we haven't reallygone out or anything.

**SasukeUchiha says: **Good Point. Shall we officially start "going out" on Monday?

**WeaponsMistress says: **Okay. See ya Monday.

_WeaponsMistress has signed off._

_SasukeUchiha has signed off._

Well. I am officially going out with Sasuke Uchiha.

-x-X-x-

"_Hey Tennie!_" Sakura's voice trilled over the phone.

"Sakura, you know I hate it when you call me Tennie. My name is Tenten. TEN. TEN."

"_Okay, okay. No more Tennie. But thats not why I called._"

I raised an eyebrow, even though she couldn't see it. "And that would be?"

"_The microphones are finally here, and Ino and I want to rehearse! The talent show _is_ in_ _two days._"

"Okay. What time do I have to be there?" I asked wearily.

"_Hmm...How about...Half an hour?_" You could she was smiling when she said this (not in a sadistic way, don't worry).

"Okay," I said, my voice still weary. "See you." Dial tone.

I dragged myself to my closet, lazily grabbing a pair of jeans and a Chinese-styled shirt.

-x-X-x-

Rehearsal is the epitome of boring. Now, you're probably wondering "What kind of rehearsal?" Well, the answer to that is _any_ rehearsal! Rehearsal is boring. Period. How I've managed to survive through all of this God-awful torture I have no idea.

If you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about I have just endured about 6 hard core hours of practice for that God-forsaken talent show. Kasumi left an hour ago. She couldn't handle all the training. Actually, almost _everyone_ left. Ino and Sakura are pushing us a little to hard, I think. Sakura really wants to beat this Karen and Ino supports Sakura in anyway she can. So, Hinata cracked under the pressure, Kasumi got up and flipped out, Temari watched all this with a bemused expression and walked out, leaving Sakura, Ino, and myself.

"I still think we should...eliminate Temari from the act. I mean, we have a hard enough time picking out parts on our own, and then we go and add Temari into the mix? It just doesn't seem logical."

"Oh, Ino, you just don't want Temari to be apart of the show," Sakura said, a playful smile painted across her beautiful face. Ino scoffed.

"That is _so_ not why I don't want her in our act!" Ino exclaimed. "I told you, I just don't think it's very practical to have six people in our routine," Ino stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Well, how would we tell her that she's out? Especially when there's only a two days before the talent show?" I asked timidly.

"We'll figure something out. I mean, how hard could it be to tell someone that there isn't enough room for them in the show?"

Sakura and I nodded hesitantly.

"Alright, Ino."

-x-X-x-

"So what's this business about kicking Temari out of the show?" Kasumi questioned as soon as we sat down for lunch.

"There is no business. The business has been taken care of. Temari is officially out of the performance," Ino said, smiling. "She didn't even put up a fight. She said she understood and that she appreciates us for telling her straight up that she's out."

"Oh. So we must have cut her part out then, huh?"

"Yup. It's easier and shorter now. We should practice one more time before the program," said Sakura.

"Oka- Ugh." Kasumi made a totally grossed out sound. All four of us looked in her line of direction to see what she was "Ugh" -ing about. Before our eyes was a girl with red hair, black-rimmed glasses and showing way too much skin for my liking. The girl spotted Kasumi and started to walk over to us, hips swaying. Kasumi made the gag sign, obviously revolted by the sight of this girl.

"Hi, Kasumi! Fancy meeting you here," the girl said with a flip of her long red hair.

"Hi, Karin. Kasumi smiled sweetly. "How are you?"

This Karen girl smiled equally as sweet, although hers seemed a little forced, while Kasumi's was au natural. "I'm doing fine. I heard you and your..." she gave us the once-over. "friends entered the talent show. "That's nice. I need some competition anyways. Although, George watched your routine and said that_ I_ was a shoe-in. That there wasn't even room to compare." Karin seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Second place is nice, though!" She said brightly.

"Yeah..." Kasumi trailed off. "So we'll see you at the show then." Karin nodded.

"See you then!" She flounced off to the table we had named the "spaghetti table." We called it that because the girls that sat there were always extremely thin and always wore either tube tops or really thin strapped shirts.

"God, I can't believe she passed the auditions," Ino said, shaking her head in disbelief. We all nodded in agreement.

"Oh...SHIT." We all whipped our heads around to stare at the rosette member of our "clique."

"Wh-what's wrong, S-sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.

"I can not _believe_ she leaves for a year, then comes back only to ruin my life!" Sakura shrieked. "What the _hell_ is her problem!? AGH!"

We continued to stare at Sakura in shock. You see, usually Sakura is very cool, calm, and collected, never really exploding in random moments. I wonder why she hates this Karen girl so much.

"So...see you guys at practice?"

-x-X-x-

"You have _got_ to be kidding me! _That's_ what they're doing in the talent show?!" Kasumi said, her voice laced in doubt. She was gaping at Karin after watching her routine, which happened to be singing. Unfortunately, their routine was, dare I say, slutty. What I mean is that the choreography is kind of...provocative. Believe it or not, they chose to do "Pon De Replay" by Rihanna

"Why would they do that song? They're just going to butcher it. I mean, only a girl with Rihanna's kind of tone could pull that one off! Why don't they do something like...Britney Spears! That would suit their voices much better!" Kasumi ranted.

I watched as Kasumi muttered a string of colourful words to herself. I returned my attention to the group. They _are _good. I think they have a shot at winning this thing. I leaned over and whispered into Hinata's ear. "Have they won before?" Hinata nodded.

"Th-they win almost every year. I g-guess everyone was getting p-pretty sick of w-watching Karin and her...p-posse win year after year," Hinata said, nodding to herself.

"Oh," was my brilliant response. "So do you think we have a chance? You know, at winning?"

"M-most definitely!" Hinata smiled softly at me. God, I wish I had her smile! I continued to watch Karin's group rehearse. Abruptly, Karin threw her hands up in the air, telling her group something with a harsh tone in her voice.

"From the top!" she screeched. And so, the urban music pounded through the speakers.

Again.

-x-X-x-

Karin's Practice Time: 2 hours 45 min.

Our Practice Time: Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Finite. ZEE. ROH. (zero)

I now understand why everyone loathes Karin with a burning passion. She is a selfish, self-absorbed (Ino: "Isn't that the same thing?" Me: "SHUT UP!"), snob! When she dies, God will not _even_ give her a second chance because she _deserves_ to go live with the other people who are just as inconsiderate and bitchy as she is!

I'm walking home as I ponder this fact and, unfortunately, do not notice a log who is conveniently blocking my path. Said log decides to trip me.

"FUCKING SON OF A BITCH! AGH, THE PAIN!" I screamed.

"Such foul words coming out of a lady's mouth," a smooth voice said. A pale hand reached for mine, I took it. I brushed the dust off of myself.

"Thanks. You do know chivalry is dead, right?" The man chuckled quietly.

"Sure. But that doesn't mean I can't act like a true gentleman."

"Touche." I looked up to see my savor. Pearly eyes met my plain brown ones. I only know one family with those eyes. "Neji Hyuuga?" He smirked lightly.

"That would be me." I smiled cautiously. Wow, this is awkward. It would have been better if I hadn't called out...

Waitaminute! I don't remember Hinata living near my house! Why would Neji be walking in the woods? Which _happens_ to be on the way to my house? Suspicious, no?

"What brings you to this neck of the woods – pardon the pun?" I asked. Hey, no one said I had to be inconspicuous!

He exhaled loudly. "I've got a little cottage out here. I like to go there to clear my head." I nodded. Interesting. I didn't know Neji liked nature...

"Soooo. How are things with you and Sakura?" Gawd, why would I ask something like that? I don't even wanna know the answer!

"Pretty good. I'm kind of happy you guys are doing the talent show, though."

"Why?"

"Sakura and I have been spending a lot of time together, and I feel like I need more time to, you know, breathe. Other wise, I think we might not still be together."

I nodded. "I see..." I paused, thinking of something else to say. "But Sakura said that she had a date with you a few nights ago. You can't be spending that much time a part from each other." His face pulled up into a lop-sided smirk, fitting his features perfectly.

"We went to this little club that I heard of. I wanted to check it out and Sakura wanted to go to dinner. We had a fight and went our separate ways. Sakura apologized, as did I, we got back together. Pretty simple, huh?"

I nodded again, distracted. Neji never usually opened up to people. It was kind of nice. Maybe we can't date right now, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends...

"This is my house. See you, Neji." I smiled up at him. He raised is hand as a gesture. I waved. I walked into my house dropping my house keys onto the table in the hall.

"I'm home!" I called. My mom's usually cheery voice did not greet me. I stalked up the stairs to my room, turning on the computer. The annoying little pop-up that says 'you have how-ever-many new messages' told me that I had one unread message. "Probably that crappy chain mail stuff again..." I muttered to no one in particular.

I clicked the message. The subject was 'Masquerade Party' from Kasumi Uchiha.

_Yo 1010,_

_What's up? What do you think of the subject? A Masquerade Party? For the fund raiser?_

_Kah-Soo-Mee_

I paused. What fund raiser? I don't remember anything about a fund rai...

_-flashback-_

_Mrs. Yuuhi stood at the front of the classroom. "Quiet!" she called loudly. Mrs. Yuuhi is very beautiful. She has these intense blood red eyes, medium length black hair that's slightly curly, and she always wears some sort of pencil skirt with a silk button-down top. The best part about Mrs. Yuuhi is that she doesn't have to scream at us to get our attention. I hate that._

"_As you know, every year we have our prom fund raiser. Each class must come up with something that will attract the students to their event. This year, we are stuck – I mean we were put in charge of the biggest event. The party! Now, does anybody have any ideas?"_

_..._

_..._

_..._

"_No one?"_

_-and end flashback-_

Ooooh, that fund raiser! Didn't we do a masquerade 2 years ago? I wrote back:

_Hey,_

_Didn't we do that a few years ago?_

Kasumi wrote back almost right away.

_Shit you're right. Hmm... What about a blast from the past/old Hollywood glamour dance?_

That's not a bad idea! We could have a live jazz band and everything!

_That's awesome! I love that look! We should tell Kurenai tomorrow._

_1010_

This is so cool! For once in my life, I actually want to be on the planning committee. I danced down the steps to greet my mom. She smiled at me warmly.

"What put you in such a great mood today, Tennie?" she asked. My mom is the only person I let call me 'Tennie'.

"Because in a week I am going to a school dance." I grinned. My mom looked confused.

"Well, that's great, honey! Is that your news?" I nodded. "Good. Um, what do you think of going on a trip with the Hyuuga family? For Spring Break?" I pondered this fact for a minute.

"Okay! Will Hinata be with us?" My mom pursed her lips. She wrung her hands. Oh God. She's hiding something from me. My mom never hides anything from me! Oh God. Oh God, Oh God, Oh God.

"Um, no. Hinata won't be joining us. Actually, Hiashi's nephew and youngest daughter will be accompanying us." My mom smiled nervously.

"Oh my God. You're _dating_ Hiashi Hyuuga!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Authoress' Note: This was totally random and I don't know why I made it. It's kind of a filler chapter again. Sorry if you're disappointed. TT I'm going to try to put the talent show in the next chapter and maybe the spring break trip. This idea came from the book this story is based off of. Except, they go skiing during winter break but we've kinda already passed that stage. So I hope you enjoyed it! NOW REVIEW, DAMN IT!**

**KiwiBlossom **


	9. Please read!

**Sorry this isn't a chapter!**

**I honestly hate people who put author's notes for chapters but if I post this on my profile I have a feeling no one will read it...**

**I totally forgot to put this in my note last chapter, so I apologize to the people who thought this was another chapter. Anyways, in about a week I will be leaving for Hong Kong for 4 weeks. I WILL have a laptop with me, but it's not mine. There fore, I can't just start a chapter on the computer. **

**I have started the 9****th**** chapter, but have come down with a case of writer's block. I will try my hardest to finish the chappie. If I can't, you have my sincerest apologizes. Thanks for taking the time to read this! **

**KiwiBlossom**

**P.S. For those of you who don't read author's notes. Well, you'll just have to wait then, won't you!? **


	10. Chapter 10:Spin, Spin, Spin

Do You Love Me

My Typical What?

I don't own Naruto ©.

**Authoress' Note: Thanks for all the reviews! Look, I know there was a whole bunch of reviews where everyone was like, "GASP! Tenten's mom and Hinata's dad!?" and everyone probably thinks I'm crazy. I'm not. This happens in the book I'm basing it off of and I just **had **to put it in. Mkay? On with the chaptah!**

"Talking"

_Thinking/lyrics/flashbacks_

**Inners/Authoress' notes**

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I am not a person who liked to keep secrets. In that sense, I also do not like secrets to be _kept_ from me. My mother knows this, yet she still kept her – as she puts it – 'private business' to herself! I mean, come on! I'm her freaking daughter! Who am I going to share this tasty tid-bit with? Ino? Psh.

I dialed Hinata's phone number, almost immediately turning off the phone. I can't phone Hinata! What am I thinking? The thought of calling Kasumi crossed my mind. I erased that idea. Kasumi would be sarcastic, and wouldn't understand at all. I punched in Ino's number. She picked up on the second ring.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey Ino" I said, sniffling slightly.

"_Hey, honey! What's wrong?"_

"I found out my mom was lying to me." Sniffle.

"_Oh? What about?"_

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "She's dating Mr. Hyuuga, Hinata's dad." Ino gasped.

"_No! But...your mom never lies! To anyone!"_

"I know. That's why I feel so betrayed," I growled.

"_Honey, if you want, I can come over and we can have some solid girl time. We'll watch movies like _John Tucker Must Die_ and _She's the Man_. We'll just hang out like we used to. When we were young." _

I nodded, realizing she couldn't see and replied, "Okay."

"_I'll be there in 7 minutes, hun." _The line went dead. I exhaled deeply. I slowly pushed the buttons down on the phone, waiting to here Sakura's voice.

"_Hey Tennie!"_ Sakura exclaimed into the phone.

"Hey Sakura. I was wondering if you wanted to come over and have a girls night in with Ino and I."

"_Sure! I'll be there in a few!" _I hung up before Sakura could.

I sighed deeply. It's been a while since Sakura's been over without anyone else (I am not counting Ino seeing that we always used to have sleepovers and that was considered 'only Sakura.' If that makes any sense...). The doorbell rang. I opened my mouth to holler at my mom to get the door, only to remember I was still mad at her.

I walked down the stairs as if in slow motion, but not in a cool way like in movies. I opened the door to my pity crew. Smiling weakly, I greeted them. Sakura grinned exuberantly, while Ino rolled her eyes at her best friend's freakishly high spirits.

"Hey, hun," she said, wrapping her arms around my stiff shoulders. The same weak smile flit across my face.

"Come on." I waved my hand in the general direction of the stairs. "To my room." I dragged my feet up the annoying stairs. _Why are there so many? _

Once in my room, the questioning began. Ino decided to rant away about how my mom shouldn't have lied to me and how I have a right to feel betrayed. Sakura quietly fiddled with her metallic pink phone, while I turned on the computer, selecting a play list of angst-y music. Soon after, _What I've Done_ by Linkin Park pulsed through the speakers. I leaned back in my chair, preparing for a long time of listening to Ino's voice.

-x-X-x-

My eyes shot open as I felt my self beginning to tip on a (what felt like) unsafe angle. "What the fu-?" I crashed to the floor, my head smashing into the side of my desk. I stood up, brushing the "dirt" off myself and rubbing the back of my head.

Sakura rushed over to inspect the bump. After prodding for a few moments, she turned to face me, smiling brightly. "All good! There will probably be a bruise, though. Try to lay off putting pressure on it, 'kay?" I nodded curtly.

Ino was making many hand gestures, only to sit down bluntly, and take a deep breath. "I'm done now."

"Finally! Now we can stop having a pity fest, and people this partay!" Sakura grinned, jumping on my bed. My eyes widened as Sakura's words connected with my brain.

"What party?! Who said we could have a party? My mom is going to kill me if she found out we're having a party at her house without telling her!" I started pacing around the room, muttering words of reassurance to myself. "I'll tell her I had nothing to do with this. I'm to depressed to host and plan a party anyways..." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"It's not going to be _here_. It's going to be at Hinata's house! Who do you think I was texting while Ino was...talking?" Ino glared at her.

"And you couldn't have told me earlier?! Now, I've got nothing to wear! Tenten, I'm going to have to make do with your clothes..." Ino disappeared into my closet. "Good God, Tenten! Don't you have a single boob-shirt?"

"A...boob-shirt? What, pray tell, is that?"

"You know, a shirt that's sensibly low-cut but doesn't make you look like a whore?" I shook my head.

"I don't think so..."

"AHA!" Ino's head immersed from the mess of clothes in my closet. "I found something reasonably cute to wear! Now, Tenten, do you mind if I cut some of your shirts...?"

I glowered. "No, you can't cut my shirts! I need them!" I cried. Ino held up her hands in mock defeat.

"Relax, relax. What I mean is, if you don't _like_ the shirt...then can I cut it up?" I exhaled through my nose before agreeing. Ino grinned at me, continuing to rummage through my wardrobe.

_1 hour later..._

"Ino, we have to go! NOW," Sakura whined slightly.

Apparently, Sakura had planned this the moment she got my phone call and had brought her "party" clothes. Ino, on the other hand, had gone fishing in my closet, finding a thin strapped, plunging v-neck (it went down to about where the clasp of a bra is), and her jeans (which had been "be-dazzled").

I had not even bothered to change – although Ino insisted upon doing my make-up – so I looked about the same as I always do: Chinese-style shirt with a pair of jeans or cropped pants.

I dragged my feet on the way to the car, celebrating silently that my mom wasn't going to drive us. We all climbed into Ino's mom's car. She flashed her pearly whites. "How are you, girls?" We all let out a chorus of 'Good's. She smiled again. We spent the rest of the short ride in silence.

-x-X-x-

_Kasumi's POV_

Fuck. Where the hell is Sakura? I'm going to freaking kill them if they don't show up. Hinata's too fucking nervous to do anything and I don't have the patience to put up with these morons. Shit.

I walked briskly down the hall to the main living room. A few party people had started to trickle in and looked very bored. I turned the music up slightly, praying to the heavens that they could keep themselves busy while I gave Hinata a pep talk. I turned on my heel, marching to Hinata's room.

I knocked gently on the door. I heard her soft voice flow to the door.

"Come in."

I breathed in deeply before walking in to the lavender-covered room. I smiled warmly at Hinata. "Hina, you have to come outside or your room. It's _your _party, after all!" Hinata gazed at her fingers, which had started to touch together, an old habit that she supposedly got rid of.

"But that's just it...This isn't _my_ party. It never was. It's Sakura's. She just needs a place to host it," she murmured quietly. I frowned.

"She's late for her own party then!" I said, a sheepish smile on my face. Hinata smiled sadly and nodded.

"I suppose she is."

I walked slowly over to her side, holding my hand out. "Hina, as long as the party is in _your_ house, it's _your_ party. Which means," she smirked. "That you must attend it." I smiled up at her, taking her hand.

"Lets do it."

-x-X-x-

_Tenten's POV_

We all piled out of the vehicle, saying our goodbye's. Sakura rang the door bell. Kasumi answered. Her smile was full of relief when she saw us. "Thank God!" she cried, turning around. "HINA! SAKI'S HERE!"

Hinata came rushing up. "Who ordered liqueur! My father doesn't even like me to have parties at home, we can't have liqueur!" Kasumi rolled her eyes, the relieved smile still on her face.

"Not sake, SAKI. As in Sah-Koo-Rah." Hinata flushed with embarrassment.

"Sorry, Sakura." Sakura shrugged.

"It's a'ight. Now, I'll go...pump up the party?" Hinata nodded furiously.

"And I'll go DJ! See ya!" Kasumi called, taking off towards the living room with Sakura close behind. Ino looked at me for a moment then said,

"Well, I'm going to go bother Shika. Bye!" She practically skipped over to where Shikamaru and...Neji we're standing.

I suddenly remembered our little bonding moment in the woods the other day, and smiled at the thought. Maybe I can go talk to him. I mean, Sakura's to occupied with the party right now! It's okay if I just talk to him, right? Of course it is. It's not like I'm going to kiss him or anything...even if I really want to. _No! Bad Tenten. Don't think those kind of thoughts!_

I smiled to myself and walked over to where Ino was whining about something, and Shikamaru was trying to ignore her (so far, not very successful). He must have gave in because they headed to the dance floor. Which means I was alone with Neji.

...

Screw you, God.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and mentally gave myself a pep-talk. I smiled when I approached him.

"Hi." I said, trying not to seem as nervous as I was. Neji turned around to face me. He smirked when he saw me.

"Ah, the girl who does not believe in courtesy." His smirk widened when he said this.

"I believe in common courtesy, I just don't believe in chivalry. I mean, no guy does the whole polite, pull-the-chair-out-for-the-lady thing anymore. Well, except if you're a waiter at a fancy restaurant," I defended.

"You'd be surprised. Many people do that." He paused, thinking. "In fact, _I_ do that." I giggled lightly at his comment.

"So, how was your nature walk?" I asked, trying not to let the conversation die. He shrugged.

"It was okay. I'm mostly just stressed out."

"Stressed about what?"

"My dad is bringing a co-worker and her daughter on our holiday, which means we'll all have to be on our 'best behavior'. Which is really stupid seeing that it's a fucking _holiday. _ We're supposed to act bizarre and party like...teenagers." Neji didn't sound mad, but his calm facade was slipping. I could only stand on the spot and nod, attempting to look like I understood, which I didn't. Besides, how can I say something comforting to him when I'm the reason he has to act like a prude? Yeah, a conversation I would like to avoid.

"Uh, do you want to dance?"

"...Sure."

We walked over to the dance floor, swaying side to side a little. Eventually I got more into it and tried a few more moves. Before I knew it, I actually started to enjoy myself. I felt myself letting go of the structured Tenten, the Tenten that thought through every microscopic detail until she thought it was safe. I became 'Party Tenten'.

-x-X-x-

_Kasumi's POV_

I bopped my head to the music, looking out at the crowd from my podium. Everyone was basically just swaying, some forcing their boyfriends to dance with them. A few people were really into it. Throwing their hands in the air, spinning, shaking their ass. Especially that girl dancing with Neji.

A girl with chocolate brown hair.

A girl who wears said hair in two 'panda' buns.

A girl who's got a crush on Neji Hyuuga.

...

Shit.

I clicked a playlist on the computer screen and marched over to Ino. "We have a problem!" I whispered into her ear. She whirled around, slurring lazily.

"What're you talking -hiccup- about?" I gaped at her.

"Ino, are you drunk?" She shook her head.

"Why would ya -hiccup- say tha-hiccup-t?" Ino swayed.

"Ah, shit, you are drunk. I'm going to kill the motherfucker who gave you friggin' liqueur." I put Ino's arm around my shoulders and dragged her towards the kitchen.

"Stupid Hyuuga's. Why the hell is their house so goddamn big!?" I muttered to myself. Finally, we got to the kitchen. I glared at Ino before telling her I was going to force her to drink some fucking water. She opened her mouth willingly. I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Drink up..."

-x-X-x-

_Tenten's POV_

Neji and I had stopped dancing, and we're now sitting to the side, talking about home and what-not.

Abruptly, the music went dead. At the DJ podium stood Sakura. She smiled to everyone. She took a deep breath. "I have a proposal to make!" she announced. Everyone began to whisper. Sakura's winning smile still intact, she continued. "I think we should play a game."

Someone cried out. "Is it a drinking game!?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, I propose we play Spin the Bottle."

A few 'whoops' went out, but other than that it was pretty silent. Sakura scanned the crowd for someone she could force into playing. Kasumi and Ino burst into the room. Ino looking happy as usual, Kasumi looking quite annoyed. Sakura grinned.

"Ino will play!" Many guys stood up, causing some girls to stand up. Kasumi collapsed next to Hinata, who had finally took a brake from cleaning.

"And, of course, I'll play!" An equal number of people stood up for Sakura. I noticed Neji didn't stand up. Out of the corner I saw Sasuke twitch to stand up but didn't. He must've remembered that we were 'dating'.

Sakura waltzed over to Kasumi, and pulled her up. "And so will Kasumi!" Kasumi looked around, confused. Many guys stood up for her as well (most her friends, the perverts.). I noticed Gaara stand up half-way before deciding against it.

Sakura's gaze landed on me. She smiled sweetly at me. "Of course Tenten will play as well?" she asked but I knew that I would have no choice. I saw quite a few bodies rise off the ground including Neji's. Gaara stood now.

Kasumi raised her eyebrows as if to say 'who-knew-you-had-so-many-crushes?'. Everyone who was playing stood near the DJ podium. I watched Sakura open her mouth to get Hinata to play, but Kasumi touched her shoulder and gave her a look. She sighed and nodded. Hinata smiled gratefully at Kasumi. She returned the smile.

To our shock, Hinata stood and walked smoothly over to join us. She beamed as she stood up there. "Great! We have enough for two circles! Okay, I'll separate us." Sakura went on to give each of us a number, signifying which circle we'd be in.

"So, everyone knows how to play, right?" Everyone nodded. Someone from the other circle whispered something into Sakura's ear. "What if you don't want to be kissed?"

Kasumi sighed loudly. "If you don't want to be kissed by the other person there are three different things you could do – that I know of, anyways. You can a remove a piece of clothing which the spinner gets to choose, b do a Truth or Dare, or c do Seven Minutes in Heaven with the spinner." The girl nodded and scurried back to her circle, explaining what Kasumi had just told her.

Sakura smiled awkwardly. "Well, I guess I'll start!" She gave the bottle a good spin, we watched with anxious eyes. It stopped on Neji. Everyone rolled their eyes. They kissed lightly. I gripped the carpet tightly. Neji spun the bottle. It landed on Ino. She shrugged happily. They kissed. Ino spun. It landed on Naruto.

"This is not fair!" she protested. Kasumi shook her head. Ino grimaced. Slowly the leaned into each other. She pulled back. "Wait! I choose to remove a piece of clothing!" Kasumi cussed under her breath.

"Well, Naruto?" Naruto blushed profusely, and began to stutter.

"Um. Uh. Do I h-have to?" The group nodded. "Uh, yo-your pick." Ino shrugged and removed her shirt (she had a tank top underneath). And so it continued. Naruto kissed Kasumi. Kasumi kissed Shikamaru. Shikamaru kissed me. I kissed Sasuke. Sasuke kissed Sakura (for a little to long if you ask me.).

Sakura spun the bottle. It landed on Kasumi.

"You're kidding?"

"Just pick remove clothing or something," Kiba said, a wolf-y grin on his face. Kasumi socked him on the arm. Kasumi smiled grimly.

"Fine. I choose Dare."

Sakura grinned evilly. "I was hoping you'd choose that one. Kasumi, your dare is you must wear revealing clothing five days out of the remaining two and half weeks in this month."

Kasumi eyes grew in size. Then they shrunk into a glare. She stuck her hand out after thinking some. "Deal."

Kasumi frowned when she spun the bottle. It landed on Gaara. "Shit," she muttered. She swallowed.

"Let's just get this over with," Gaara said. They touched lips briefly.

"What kind of kiss was that!?" Kiba exclaimed. "You couldn't even have called that a kiss!" Kasumi shot Kiba a look. "Redo, redo, redo," he chanted. The room joined in.

"Fine," Kasumi growled. They both leaned forward and kissed. 5 seconds (Kiba timed). She glared at Kiba. "Happy now?"

"Very. Especially because I got a picture." He grinned. Kasumi twitched.

Gaara spun the bottle. It landed on Sasuke. "I choose Dare,"he said automatically. Sasuke thought for a minute.

"Sabaku, I dare you to dress in nothing but fishnet – with the exception of your pants, that is – this Monday." The shook on it.

Sasuke kissed Hinata, Hinata kissed Kiba, Kiba kissed me. I spun the bottle hard. It began to slow. It came to a halt on Neji. I glanced at Sakura. She seamed quite relaxed. In fact, she was chatting with Sasuke. I swallowed hard.

I leaned forward as did he. Our lips an inch from each other I stopped. I can't do it. I can't kiss him when he's dating someone else. I just can't. Unfortunately, Neji could. He closed the gap between us.

Kiba went on to time us (7 seconds). I pulled back. I clutched my stomach immediately after. I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. I stood.

"I quit," I murmured quietly.

"Me too," Kasumi said, as she trailed behind me. "You okay?" she asked, placing a hand on my arm. I nodded.

"I'm fine."

But that was a lie. I wasn't okay. And on top of that, I had figured out what that pain in my stomach was.

It was guilt.

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**Authoress' Note: So I did get a chance to finish the chapter! I don't think I did a very good job, but at least I got it up, right?**

**I'd like to thank MercilessRuby for reviewing my authoress' note and being so understanding.**

**Also I'd like to thank Shikyo no Amatsu Shinsei for all the great ideas of places to go.**

**Anyways, I know I've been saying that I'd put the performance for the talent show in the next chapter for forever but I will definitely try and do it the next chappie. **

**Thanks for all the reviews! Now, review again! Purple button! PRESS. IT.**

**KiwiBlossom**


	11. Chapter 11: Awkward Moments

My Typical What

My Typical What?

I don't own Naruto.

Authoress' Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I was pleasantly surprised to find out so many of you pressed the button. Oh yeah, from now on, flashbacks will be done in the normal POV. Once again, thanks.

WARNING: END AUTHORESS' NOTE WILL BE INCREDIBLY LONG.

Normal Storyline

**Inners/Authoress' Note**

Thinking/flashbacks/lyricsOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I clutched my stomach as I silently watched the rest of the spin the bottle game. Ino and Kiba seemed to be competing to see who could humiliate themselves faster. Ino was down to her bra and skirt, while Kiba was just wearing a pair of khaki shorts (which I am _hoping_ are his). Each of them had taken 3 dares and had told many secrets – which is ironic, seeing that Ino is the gossip queen.

Sakua and Sasuke we're deep in conversation, Shikamaru was…I think sleeping; Chouji was munching away (Shino watching with a slightly disgusted expression.), Hinata was listening to Naruto ramble on about something probably ramen related or about him wanting to become president. And…Neji (my gut lurches) is sitting alone looking completely bored.

I sigh loudly, and I expect to see Kasumi asking me what's wrong almost immediately. When she doesn't pat my shoulder, I crane my neck to look for her. My eyes pin her down talking with Gaara and his brother, Kankurou.

I straighten my back when I see him. I grin. Kankurou will brighten my day! He knows how to make me smile, there fore be must know how to make this guilty feeling leave me. I stand up and begin to walk over to them.

Kankurou spots me and waves his hand frantically. When I (finally) arrive, I smile brightly and greet them. We - Kankurou and myself – converse politely until making up some half-ass excuse about going to the bathroom (Kankurou's) and seeing someone I know (mine, unfortunately). And sprint to the backyard, laughing hysterically.

"God, that was a stupid reason," I told him, breathless.

"Oh yeah? What about yours? 'I just saw someone I know! I'll see you guys later!' _Puh_-_lease. _Tenten, the whole freaking school was at that party. Of course there were people that you knew!" he retorted, teasing me and enjoying it.

Despite his harmful teasing I didn't join in on his laughter. I simply gazed at him with a look of honest curiosity. The pain in my chest leaving engaged the feeling of curiosity. I rubbed the skin over my heart, feeling the pulse of it beating against my chest.

"Kankurou…" He turned around to face me. "I was wondering, have you ever had a girlfriend?"

He stood there awkwardly, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. I realized what I had just said and immediately began to correct myself. In other words, I started to ramble.

"I don't mean a…girlfriend-girlfriend, I mean a friend who happens to be a girl that you hang out with a lot and makes you feel like your hanging out with one of the guys." He nodded.

"Of course, of course. What else would you have meant?!" Is it just me or did his voice just rise an octave? "Uh, not really. Well, I guess you're kind of like that. But I don't really feel like your one of the guys or anything for a few reasons."

I raised my eyebrows. "What kind of reasons?"

"Uh, well you're smarter than a fair amount of the guys I hang out with, you make me laugh just by saying something, instead of doing something incredibly stupid, and, well, you're…really pretty."

I smiled and flushed at his last comment. He started talking again, a tint of scarlet across his cheeks.

"Actually, you're better than pretty, you're, um, beautiful in your own way and, um, yeah."

I stared at him with a tender gaze at his last compliment. I touched his arm, smiling warmly.

"That has got to be the sweetest thing any guy has ever said to me. Thanks."

His lips pulled up at the sides, not smiling but close to it. He began to ring his hands, he wants to tell me something, he just doesn't know how to word it.

"Look, Tenten, I know you're probably thinking that I just said all that stuff to boost your confidence or whatever, but I didn't. I mean every word I just said. Tenten, I-" he was cut off by a loud shriek.

"What the hell?" I said as I made my way to the house.

-x-X-x-

"I'm going to _kill_ you, Lee!" Kasumi screamed after Rock Lee, who's green spandex-clad butt was making it's way out of there as quick as you can say "cupcake".

I walked in to see Kasumi glaring daggers in the general direction that Lee has shot off in. My eyes spotted a metal gleam in the light. Kasumi's not one to wear jewelry so that must be something else.

I inched closer until I got a clear view of what the shining object was. They were handcuffs. Someone (coughcoughleecoughcough) had attempted to do a magic trick – the one where the 'magician' handcuffs two volunteers (in this case Kasumi and Gaara), throws away the key and some-how unlocks the handcuffs – and had lost the key to the handcuffs, leaving Gaara and Kasumi together, literally.

"GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE, LEE!" Kasumi hollered.

"Could you be so kind as to stop yelling in my ear?" Gaara said, glaring lightly at her. She stuck her tongue out at him in response. They continued to bicker at whose house to stay at because, clearly, they weren't getting out of this anytime soon.

"Well, _I_ say we should stay at _my _house because _I_ need to shower tomorrow morning, thus, I'll need new clothes. Plus, my parents already know how much of a freak Lee is…"

"So you can wear my sister's clothes."

"They won't fit!"

"Ugh, fine we'll stay at your house."

"Thank you."

And so, the chaos began.

-x-X-x-

Normal POV

Kasumi dragged Gaara up to her room, muttering curses under her breath.

"Alright, this is where we're sleeping." She swept her free hand across her bedroom grandly. Gaara frowned.

"We have to sleep in the same bed." It wasn't a question; it was a fact. She flushed and nodded. They struggled to walk towards her bed, awkwardly lying down next to each other.

"Try anything and I'll break your arm, not to mention my brothers and dad," she threatened, muttering the last part to herself. He scoffed.

"Right. I'd stoop that low."

Kasumi sat up abruptly, jerking her "significant other" up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped. "Am I not good enough for 'The Great Gaara Sabaku'?" She glared at him, attempting to burn a hole in Gaara's aqua eyes with her own onyx orbs.

He remained speechless for a moment before replying. "You know that's not what I meant," he stated quietly. He started chuckling without humor. "What's with you, Kasumi? Ever since that girl from the school paper saw us holding hands in the hallway, you've been acting strange."

Kasumi averted her eyes.

"Look at me, Kasumi."

She continued to stare stubbornly at the wall. He cupped the side of her face with his free hand, forcing her to look into his eyes. She stared at her hands.

"Kasumi, are you…afraid of me? Or, possibly, ashamed of our…relationship?"

Kasumi glanced up at him at his last comment.

"Oh God, Gaara, no! It's got nothing to do with us going out. It's just…" She trailed off, wondering if she should even _try_ to comprehend and explain feelings she herself didn't even understand.

"I just…I always told my friends that I was a strong individual who doesn't need a man to lean on. And right now I feel like all of his holding hands and shit is just a way for me to use you as a crutch!"

Kasumi pursed her lips.

"…I feel like I'm losing myself." Her voice was hoarse.

Gaara sat next to her silently, watching Kasumi Uchiha fight back tears. He was at a loss for words. All he could do was wrap his arm around her.

"You're not losing yourself. You're discovering some emotions you've never experienced before," he murmured softly in her ear, rubbing wide circles on her back.

She sniffled weakly. "You got that out of book, didn't you?"

He smirked. "Yeah. But it worked, didn't it?"

She laughed loudly at that and nodded.

"Yeah." There was a silence, but it wasn't as comfortable as they would have liked. "Er, I kind of have to change into a pair of shorts, if you don't mind."

Gaara had a small look of shock on his face but covered it up as quickly as it appeared. "Oh, of course. I'll just…"

They clumsily staggered over to Kasumi's dresser. She fumbled with the drawer, finally finding a pair of comfortable shorts to sleep in. Gaara turned around, while Kasumi efficiently changed.

They clambered back towards the queen-size bed, and laid down.

"So, um, good night."

"Good night."

-x-X-x-

Kasumi's POV

The sun shone menacingly through my curtains, waking me up. I glared harshly at them, inwardly thankful that they were closed, shielding my poor eyes.

I swung my legs over, attempting to get up, but was pulled down by, what seemed to be, an anchor. I whipped around to see a head of red hair.

_Why is Gaara in my room?_ I tilted my head to the side, gazing at him. I backtracked to last night. I remembered playing spin the bottle and having a very strange conversation with Tenten and Kankurou. They had scurried off somewhere, giggling like mad.

Then I remembered Lee claiming he was a magician and volunteering Gaara and I. I remember hearing the _'click' _of the handcuffs as they joined us together. I growled, recalling the feeling of panic.

…

And absolute loathing towards Lee.

Panic because I knew we would have to come to my house. And because if my parents found out we were sleeping in the same room together, I would be interrogated and Gaara would be forbidden to even look at me (Not to mention, Itatchi would start coming to school again disguised as a senior, but actually my body guard.).

And the hatred was connected to the panic, because is we got caught, I would be grounded for the rest of my life.

I sighed loudly. Gaara stirred. I froze. I didn't mean to wake him…

He rolled over, his beautiful eyes staring up at me. "Your awake." Another one of his simple statements that are meant to be questions but he's already answered them. I nodded.

"Sorry I woke you up." He shook his hair out of his eyes.

"I don't sleep very much anyways." I nodded again.

He stretched his arms above his head, bringing my left arm along with it. We both reacted to the loud clinking of the metal. My eyes widened in horror. Gaara gave me a puzzled look.

"Uh, could we go downstairs for a minute? I need to see something."

Carefully we tiptoed down the stairs into the kitchen. There were three notes on the kitchen's counter in my mother's neat, loopy writing, Itatchi's elegant cursive, and Sasuke's neat, yet simple, scrawl. The first read:

Dear Itatch, Kasumi, and Sasuke,

Your father and I went out for breakfast this morning, on the occasion of our anniversary. We'll be back around 3P.M. and encourage you to go outside for some fresh air!

There's some cereal in the pantry, or some toast on top of the stove.

We hope you have a lovely day,

Mom and Dad.

Itatchi's said:

Hey kids.

Dropped by last night for a visit. Have a meeting; will be back around 5.

Have a good day.

Itatchi.

P.S. Kasumi, I need to talk to you.

And lastly, Sasuke's:

_Kasumi,_

_Gone out with Tenten-_

My eyebrows connected for a minute at that part of the sentence.

_And I'll be back in roughly 5 or 6 hours._

_-Sasuke_

P.S. Why does Itatchi want to talk to you?

I folded the notes and through them into the garbage can. I hastily wrote down the times everyone would be home by so that I knew when I had to kick Gaara out of the house.

"I've got to take a shower." I whirled around to face him.

"Oh. Okay." I lead him back upstairs to my bathroom.

My bathroom is reasonably sized and we both fit in easily. He eyed the thick green, white, and blue stripes around my bathroom.

"Stripes?" He sounded amused.

"Stripes."

"Are you going to go first?" I looked at him, confused. He inclined his head towards the shower. Oh.

"Uh, yeah, I guess."

He turned around immediately after he heard my answer. Hesitantly, I striped off my clothing and climbed into the shower.

The cold water hit me first, followed shortly after the warm water. I hurriedly began to lather shampoo in my hair with my left hand, glancing out of a crack in the curtain to look at Gaara.

He was facing the mirror, his eyes nowhere near the shower. He seemed to either have no interest in 'peeking' or he did but was being a gentleman and was looking away. I smiled at that, knowing that he wouldn't take advantage of a girl who's…ass-naked and dripping in water and soap. I shook that thought from my mind and began to rub in the conditioner.

I quickly rinsed and began to pull back the curtain. Gaara turned to face the door. I grabbed a towel off the rack and tried to dry my (nude) body. I towel-dried my hair a little bit, then wrapping the slightly-damp-in-some-areas towel around my body.

"Erm, you can, uh, shower now," I muttered awkwardly. He nodded curtly. I turned to face the door just as he had.

I heard him draw the curtain and turn the shower on. I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned to see my reflection in the mirror. My side bangs were plastered to the right side of my face, while the rest of my hair hung heavy and wet down my back.

I let the towel go and bent over, flipping my hair over my head. I began rubbing the towel all over my raven hair, cursing it for being so damn long. My head jerked up when I no longer could hear the sound of the water drumming against the floor of the shower. I hurriedly wrapped the towel around my now-dry body.

I turned quickly towards the door while Gaara climbed out and grabbed a towel. I heard him pick up his clothes. He walked firmly by, dragging me with him. We entered my room. I must have looked confused because Gaara spoke then.

"I assume you want to pick out some clothing. Unless you want to walk around wearing a short towel, which I'm sure none of the guys on the street will mind."

I felt the blood prickling on my cheeks. "Of course I want clothes!" I stated hotly. I marched over to my dresser, picking out a pair of skinny jeans and a slightly baggy t-shirt with a tank top to wear underneath because I knew that it would fall of the side of my shoulder. I opened the top drawer, grabbing a pair of knickers and a bra (Unfortunately, in my haste, I chose a lacy one which I never wear.).

We stalked back over towards the bathroom, which was connected to my room. I walked in to the bathroom and shut the door as far as I could.

"I'll change first then you."

I began to put my knickers and pants on – a more difficult feat then I had anticipated. After finally buttoning my jeans. I picked up my bra, muttering stuff about choosing a more practical one than lace.

I thread the bra through the handcuff, and slid the straps up my shoulders. I stopped. How the fuck am I going to do this thing up? I most certainly can NOT do it with one hand.

I glanced out at Gaara, who was calmly sitting, staring at the wall. I noticed his jaw was clenched, meaning he was controlling some anger. I spotted his wrist; much more read than mine.

You could ask him.

_I think not._

Why not? You're just asking a favor.

_Oh yeah, that's real easy. I can't get my bra done up so could you help me? I don't think so!_

Fine. Be that way.

I struggled. I kept scraping my back with the clasp and I wasn't even close to the other strap. I hissed in frustration. It can't be this hard!

…Can it?

No, no it can't. I can do this. After several attempts (all failures), I sighed in resolution. _One more time. _I grabbed the strap with the hook, trying desperately to hook it one to the clasp.

"Do you mind?" Gaara growled. "It's kind of painful when your arm is being jerked around in a series of bizarre motions."

"Well sorry! Is it my fault it's impossible to do up a bra with one hand?!"

Gaara shut up after that.

I attempted twice more before sighing in defeat.

"Gaara?"

"Hn."

"Can you" –I gulp- "Can you help me? I can't do this thing up on my own."

Gaara looked through the crack to see me looking at him with a tinted cheek.

"Hn."

I twisted around so that my back was facing him.

"I can't see anything."

"Well I'm not coming out any further!" He sighed.

"Fine."

I felt his cool hand on the small of my back. I went rigid.

_This feels weird._

**Honey, it feels **right.

_Go away._

Whatever.

His hands ran over my back. "Go up to your left a bit." He did as he was told. I felt him go closer to my collarbone. He went back to the middle.

After a few uncomfortable moments, I finally felt the tug of the strap.

"I got it."

I nodded. "Just hold it there and I'll the rest." I hooked the hook on to the clasp, securing my bra. I turned so that I was parallel with the door again. Gaara looked away. I shut the door as far as it could go again. I thread my tank top through the handcuff, doing the same with my t-shirt once the former was one.

"I'm done," I murmur.

"Good."

He began changing (and no, I was NOT spying on him.), my wrist flying in a multitude of different directions. It stopped almost as abruptly as it had started.

-x-X-x-

We stood in front of my large mirror, me combing my hair, Gaara trying (and failing horribly) to button Itatchi's shirt (we snuck into his room and stole a shirt. If I tried to take on of Sasuke's he would need the moment he stepped into the house. He's weird that way.).

I watched him out of the corner of my eye. I muffled my laughter every time he couldn't get the button into its appropriate hole.

"Do you want me to do it?" I offered. He paused before nodding.

I turned to face him. I began to do the buttons up with ease.

"It's really not that hard," I tell him. "I mean, I can do it pretty easily."

"Hn. It's just something that I never thought that important to learn."

I laughed. "Gaara, most people learn how to button a shirt when there two or three. You're seventeen and you're telling me you don't know how to button a shirt?"

"Not with one hand!"

I laughed. I finished the last button. "There." I pat his chest. I go back to brushing my hair. When I go to pick it up it falls off. "Oh, for Christ's sake." I bent down to pick up my brush. As I was getting up, I felt Gaara's unusually cold hand on the bottom of my back, right above my jeans.

My eyes widened and I froze. "Gaara?"

"You have a tattoo." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uh, yeah."

"I never noticed that before. When did you get it?"

"Um, about a month or two ago."

He traced the three Japanese characters printed on the bottom left-hand corner of my back.

"What does it mean?"

"Peace, Love, and Harmony. They go hand-in-hand in my world."

He nodded. "This one" –he patted the one in the middle- "it means 'Love'. It's the one I have on my forehead. Where did you find it? In the shop? On the internet?"

"Uh, no. I copied it off you, actually. Remember?"

_-Flashback-_

_Kasumi poked Gaara's shoulder. _

"_Hey. Can I talk to you for a minute? I just need to do something."_

_He nodded. They walked into an empty chem.. lab. She sat down. He sat down across from her. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment. Kasumi was the one who looked down first._

_She reached her hand up and brushed Gaara's hair to the side, fully exposing his tattoo. She began running her thumb on the tattoo, tracing it. After finishing that, she took out a notebook and began to draw the symbol. She smiled up at him once she was done._

"_Thanks!" She ran off, leaving a confused Gaara._

_-End Flashback-_

He nodded. "Ah, I remember now."

I smiled. He continued to trace it, his eyes fixed on the three symbols.

"So! How about we go downstairs!" I suggested brightly. He broke his gaze on the tattoo to nod. I smiled and pulled down my shirt, hiding the tattoo once again.

We piled downstairs, greeted by Itatchi. I froze.

Shit.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**Authoress' Note: So this is the first of the Hong Kong chapters. I've been here for 5 days (today is July 26, 2008). I hope I'll be able to type another chappie while I'm here. I'll honestly try.**

**Sorry there wasn't any NejixTen AT ALL. I just couldn't resist doing a GaaraxOC chapter. -shrinks to chibbie form- Please don't hate me!! Actually, this was kind of a test flight. I just wanted to see if I was any good at writing OC stories. If I suck I'll never write an OC story. If not, I'll try again. **

**I'm also really sorry that the POV jumps around a lot. Also, I'm sure I'll get a lot of crap about Gaara being OOC (Out Of Character) but I honestly believe that when you truly care for someone you'll change for him or her. That's why Gaara is so kind to Kasumi. But of course, he goes back to being isolated Gaara later. **

**Next chapter we see where Tenten and Sasuke went and hopefully the talent show in the chapter after that. **

**I did NOT think of the handcuff scene. Well, actually I thought of everything except the incredibly awkward bra scene. Kudos to the author of 10,000 in 28 days (sorry I can't remember your screen name!)**

**Thanks for all the reviews again! Now just PRESS. THE BUTTON. ONE. MORE. TIME. **

**KiwiBlossom**


	12. Chapter 12:Stalking

My Typical What

My Typical What?

I don't own Naruto ®.

**Authoress' Note: Omigod! So many reviews! -bows repeatedly- Thank you!! . Now do it again at the end of this chapter.**

'Surprise' does not even _begin _to describe what I felt when I found Sasuke sitting in the living room of my house. He was looking at a picture of Hinata, Ino, Kasumi, Sakura and myself. We all had whip cream on our noses and we were pointing and laughing at each other (Okay, actually, Kasumi was rolling her eyes at how we were acting (a smile still on her face!), I was attempting to wipe the whip cream off before the camera flashed (failure) and Hinata was giggling. So, Sakura and Ino were the only ones laughing and pointing at each other.)

"'Morning," he said as I walked down the stairs, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Er, 'morning?"

We stood facing each other for a moment, the awkward feeling almost tangible.

"Uh, sorry if this sounds a little rude but, why the _hell _are you here?"

"I thought we'd go out."

"'Out'?"

"Yes, out."

"Um, why?"

"Because I'm supposedly your boyfriend and that's what they supposedly do."

"Oh."

We stared at each other again.

"I'll just go get changed."

I turned and started back up the stairs. I opened the door to my bedroom, sat on my bed for a minute before getting up and changing into a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt with my name scrawled carelessly across it in silver glitter.

I strolled over to my bathroom (all blue) and washed my face. I walked back downstairs, nervous.

Sasuke looked up when I entered the room. He was looking at the same picture. We stared at each other once again.

"You can, uh, have that picture if you want it," I said feebly. He shook his head.

"I was just looking at my sister."

I shot him a 'why-the-hell-are-you-looking-at-your-sister' look. He answered with a puzzled look with until it dawned on him what I meant.

"I mean I'm looking at her smile. It's not fake."

"Of course it's not fake!" I said, slightly offended. "She's with us! She never fakes a smile with us."

"That's not what I meant," Sasuke said, a slight twinge of impatience in his voice. "She always had a weird awkward smile that, to the untrained eye, looks like happiness. I know her better than that, though."

Another uncomfortable silence.

"Why don't I make breakfast here and then we can do something," I suggested.

"Hn."

"There are more pictures of us in my room, if you want to see."

He nodded and made his way upstairs. Once I heard my door slam shut, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God."

I shuffled over to the stereo and popped a mix CD in. "If I Never See Your Face Again" by Maroon 5 feat. Rihanna blasted through the speakers. I started to sway to the music. I waltzed into the kitchen, turning on the stove. I got out the pancake mix and started to stir in the necessary ingredients.

"_It makes you burn to learn I'm with another man!_" I sang loudly. "_'Cause you keep me coming back for more…_" I continued to sway with the music. Unfortunately, I failed to notice Sasuke walk in the kitchen.

He smirked. "I didn't know you like Maroon 5."

I spun around, my eyes as wide as dinner plates. I swallowed.

"Only select songs," I said, a nervous smile on my face.

"Hn."

"Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. You can go back upstairs if you want."

_Please go back into my room!_ I found myself praying.

He settled down into a kitchen chair.

"Nah, I think I'll stay here. Please," he swept his hand around the room. "Continue."

I swallowed again and turned back to the stove. I flipped a pancake, the music still blasting away. I let my mind wander.

_Why won't he go back to my room?! He makes me so freaking nervous and self-conscious! God, all I wanted to do was go buy that cool pocketknife and maybe invite the girls over, but noooo! Stupid Sasuke had to come and totally ruin my weekend! _

I began to flip the pancakes with more force, unleashing my anger on the poor food. I stopped when I saw a crumpled pancake in my pan. I took a deep cleansing breath and threw the butchered pancake into the garbage. I twirled around.

"Done!" I announced. Sasuke nodded his head in response. I set a plate with 3 pancakes down in front of him. I scooped 2 on to my own plate and soaked them in maple syrup. Sasuke did nothing and just began to eat them plain. I stared quizzically at him.

"Don't you want anything on them?"

Sasuke winced as if someone had just shoved a rusty nail in his foot. "I don't like sweet things."

"Oh."

We ate in silence with Skye Sweetnam's "Human" playing quietly in the background. I cleared my throat after several moments.

"So, Sasuke. What did you have planned today?"

"I figured we'd just go to the mall and maybe head back to my house."

"Ah. Sounds…nice."

The stillness returned.

…For the love of_ God _will he _please speak_.

"_I want you to come on, come on, come on and take a!_

_Take another little piece of my heart now, baby..."_

Sasuke's brow furrowed. I took my cell phone out of my pocket and jabbed at the green 'talk' button.

"Hello?"

"_Oh thank _God_. Tenten I'm so freakin' screwed!_"

"What are you talking about?"

"_Okay, you know how Lee kind of, sort of, handcuffed Gaara and I together?_"

I had a brief flashback of a blur of green (Lee) darting out of Hinata's living room. "Er, yeah."

"_Well, I kinda, sorta, had to bring him to my house and we kind of, had to sleep in my room on the same bed and…_"

"Holy shit, Kasumi, Does your dad know?" I exclaimed, whispering her name when the time came to say it.

"_Erm, no. But Itachi's here and he's 'talking' with Gaara! I think he might tell my dad. And you _know _my dad'll annihilate Gaara._"

"Ah, fuck." Wait a minute. She just said 'annihilate Gaara'. Not her. Which means she's putting herself above Gaara. And Kasumi only does that with really close friends…which means…!

"Oh my God. Kasumi, are you _dating _Gaara Sabaku?"

There was silence on the other end. "_You can NOT tell ANYONE,_" she whisper-shouted into the phone.

"I won't."

"_Oh shit, Tenten, I hear footsteps. I gotta go!_"

"Wait, Kasumi-!" The line went dead.

…

OH SHIT.

-x-X-x-

_Kasumi's POV_

I slammed the phone back in its cradle and fiddled with the edge of my pillow, in what I hope was a natural, casual way. I strained my ears listening for Itachi's footsteps. Finally, I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in!" I said, my voice about two octaves higher than normal. Itachi poked his head into my room.

"Hey, little sister. Long time no see."

I smiled nervously in response, viciously pleating my comforter. Itachi smiled back and started again.

"So I talked to your friend downstairs. He seems like a nice guy."

I nodded stiffly. "Yeah."

There's a quiet moment.

"I know about you two."

I stiffened. _Shit. Shit, Shit, Shit!_

"What are you talking about?" Dear _Lord_, my voice is shrill.

"I saw you two last night. In your room."

I swallowed. "Uh, how _much _did you see?" I asked, nervous smile back on my face.

"I saw you two sleeping quite comfortably next to each other."

My eyes grew. I began to wring my hands nervously.

"What _I _want to know is how the _hell _did you two end up handcuffed together?"

I laughed piercingly. "Uh, well, Lee wanted to do a magic trick and - "

He held up his hand. "Enough said. When I hear the words 'Lee' and 'magic' I don't want to know any more."

I let out a huge sigh of relief. "Yes. Well."

"I'm heading back to the office. I assume you and Gaara will be okay alone?"

I nodded feebly. He stands up and walks away.

_He doesn't know. HE DOESN'T KNOW!_

"Oh, by the way, Kasumi, I know you and Gaara are, shall we way, a little closer than friends." He smirked.

Fuck.

I hear myself laugh and smile.

"Don't worry. I won't tell dad."

I paused.

"Thanks," I whispered as he closed the door.

-x-X-x-

_Tenten's POV_

Oh God. Oh shit. OH _FUCK_.

"Who was that?"

I whirled around to see Sasuke dishing out another stack of pancakes. "No one!" I exclaimed, frantically wracking my brain for a person that could and would call. "It was…my…mom! She wants me to…get more milk!"

Sasuke raises his eyebrows again. "Whatever." He continues to eat his plain pancakes.

I let out a huge whoosh of breath. Thank _God _that worked. Now I can finish my breakfast in peace!

I sit back down in my chair and begin to cut my last flapjack. Yum. I really don't get how Ino can't make these. I mean, you poor the pre-mixed stuff in the bowl with water or milk (or is it both…?) and all you have to do is make sure that both sides are evenly cooked. How hard can that be?

…Although, Ino and the stove aren't exactly friends. Never mind. I will _never_ let Ino anywhere near my mom's stove. Ever.

Sasuke's monotone interrupts my thoughts.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Oh. Uh, yes!"

He nods, standing up at the same time. I follow suit. We walk outside and there, parked in my driveway is a beautiful, brand-new, sleek, black Porsche.

"Th-that's your car!?"

"Yes."

I walk over and run my hand along the door. God, I've wanted one of these things _forever_. And not just because they're good eye-candy, but because they're super-fast.

"If you're done, could we get going?" Sasuke said, a smidge of impatience evident in his voice.

"Well, yeah, I suppose."

I open the door and have to muffle a gasp. The thing is even more amazing inside. Mostly everything's black, but that doesn't matter to me. Black leather seats and trimming, black carpet that looks like no dirty feet have ever touched it. The only light is coming from the sound system, which let's out an electrifying blue hue.

"You like it?"

I nod, at a loss for words. He smirked.

"I figured. Just try not to drool."

"Jerk."

We sat and he blasted some rap song that I'd heard before or just couldn't remember the name of. We took off towards the mall, earning stares from passer-bys.

I fiddled nervously with my hands. What the hell do I say to him? He's so ice cube-ish and quiet and...kind of reminds me of Neji. _Could I possibly actually like Sasuke Uchiha_?

I pondered this thought for a minute. Could I? He _is _quite similar to Neji. And he's quiet so we wouln't have to have any bull shit conversations, like, 'how was your day?' 'my day was good.' kind of thing. I hate that. It's just so...fake.

I peered at Sasuke through the corner of my eye. There's no denying that he's good-looking. But so is Neji. And I suppose if Sasuke's plan works then I won't have to settle for second best...

But what we're doing is so _munipulitive_! I just _can't _dothis to Sakura! I _won't _do this to her.

...But that doesn't mean I can't wait and see if it works. For research purposes, of course!

Yes. Yes, that's what I'll do.

I think.

-x-X-x-

_Kasumi's POV_

Okay. Okay, Kasumi, breathe. Nothing will happen. Your just home alone with a really cute boy who you happen tobe dating and could possibly...do something innappropriate that could possibly ruin your life.

_Oh, who am I kidding_? OF COURSE something's going to happen! I have to get out.

I glanced frantically around the living room. But where can we go without having to relive the bra scene?

"_The Mall_," a voice whispered in the back of my mind. Yes. Yes, that'll work. The mall is crowded. I might even see someone I know. Like Ino or Temari! Yes, the mall is good.

I strolled over to my couch and plopped down next to Gaara, who was watching a soccer game. I fidgeted constantly. Damn it just ask hi-

"Is there something you want to ask, Kasumi?"

My eyes widened.

"How do you _do _that?"

"Do what?

"Read peoples' minds."

Gaara shrugged. "So do you wanted to ask me something?"

"Oh. Oh, yes. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the mall."

He's face contorted. "To go shopping?"

My face changed into what I think was a horrified expression. "No! Just to...get out of the house."

He thought about this for a moment before nodding. I beamed.

"Great!"

As we got in the car I couldn't stop smiling.

-x-X-x-

_Back with Tenten and Sasuke at the mall._

Oh my _God, _this is awkward. Why did I agree to do this? I should have just told him, "Fuck no, Sasuke. That is the stupidest idea I have _ever _heard."

...Except it's _not _the stupidest idea I've ever heard. Plus, Sasuke freaks me out a _tiny _bit.

If you're wondering what we're doing, we're crouching "discreetly" behind a bush watching Neji and Sakura.

"What the _hell_? Is he _actually _carryingher _bags?_"

Oh, and Ino is with us.

We continued to watch Sakura and Neji wander around the mall, hand-in-hand.

"Ino, my legs are starting to cramp. Can we please stop stalking Sakura?" I complained. Seriously, we've been here for over an hour.

"First of all, we're not _stalking_, we're _researching_. And second of all, I'm was bored so I need something to do."

I opened my mouth retort when I heard Kasumi's voice.

"Tenten?"

I turned around to face her to see her with Gaara…and Neji.

Ino and I raised our hands and waved.

"Hi…?"

**Authoress' Note: Okay, I really have to stop ending with cliffies. Gah. Whatever. So, as you can see I've changed the title AND the summary. I never really liked either. I was just waiting for inspiration. :P **

**Anyways, this chapter was probably one of the worst I've written but it took me a really long time to update so I kind of, sort of, rushed it. XD **

**In other news, I'm planning the first chapter for 2 or…5 stories. This doesn't mean I'm going to update all of them, but if I don't get the ideas out I'll forget them. Which sucks.**

**That's all!**

**KiwiBlossom**

**P.S. Check out "Community Service" by BrooklynBooknerd.023 It's dedicated to me. :D Now, REVIEW!**


	13. Another Authoress

**Sorry this is going to be really rushed!**

**I know it's another authoress' note! But my computer is being gay and only saved half of my chapter. I will rewrite the chapter that I lost and will replace it hopefully by tomorrow.**

**Thank you for your patience!**

**~KiwiBlossom**


	14. Chapter 13:Bonds and Lace

Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over

I don't own Naruto or any songs used in this fanfiction.

**Authoress' Note: Once again, I apologize profusely for the wait. This chapter really doesn't make up for how long I've made you wait. In my defense, I did say that I'm on semi-hiatus. But whatever. Oh yeah, there are some responses to some anonymous reviews at the bottom. Also, this is the actually chapter:P**

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Humiliation.' A word I know the feeling of very well. Because (a) I can be very clumsy. Thus, I usually trip and fall. A lot. And (b) I'm crouching behind a fake plant with Ino and Sasuke while my stares at me with this really twisted expression on his face. Ugh.

As Ino and I awkwardly waved our hands in greeting, Sasuke stood and smiled stiffly at his sister.

"Hey Sasuke. Tenten. Ino," Kasumi said, struggling to think of _something_ that would make this less uncomfortable. "May I ask why you guys are crouched behind a, er, plant?"

We were quiet.

"Tenten..." Ino began. "Dropped a nickel!" She grinned at her own brilliance. My eyes grew and I stared at her.

"What?" I whisper-shouted at her.

"I don't know! I couldn't think of anything!" she whisper-shouted back.

"A nickel, Ino!?"

"Sorry!"

Kasumi nodded. "Ah. A coin." I nodded back. Kasumi seemed to be mulling this over. "Hey, Ino..."

"Yeah?" Ino glanced up.

"Do you want to help me...shop?" Kasumi asked through her teeth. Ino squealed. Gaara's eyes grew slightly in shock.

"Yes! Of _course_, yes! Oh my God, I'm going to give you a _total_ makeover!"

"Ino, I said help me shop, not rearrange my face!" Kasumi struggled as Ino pulled her away. "HELP!"

I watched helplessly as Kasumi was dragged away. I sighed loudly. Neji inched over to me and murmured,

"Is she going to be okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. She'll just look like a completely different person."

"Ah."

While Neji and I were having this conversation, Sakura was squirming under the gaze of the youngest Sabaku sibling. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her flinch when he stared at her. She slid "inconspicuously" towards Sasuke. She mouthed, "Save me" at him. He smirked lightly. Sasuke cleared his throat. We all looked at him.

"Why don't you and...Neji go for a walk?" Sasuke suggested smoothly, as if he wasn't planning this (sly bastard) at all. I smiled, hopefully, convincingly back at him.

"What a great idea!" I exclaimed. And with that, Sasuke and Sakura walked off towards the food court. Neji let out a sigh of relief.

"Help me get these god damn bags to her god damn car," he mumbled to me. I giggled and quickly grabbed a few or the overflowing bags from his arms. We wandered around the parking lot until we found Sakura's red VW bug. I giggled again.

"What?"

"You rode to the mall in Sakura's car?"

Neji pulled a slightly horrified face. "God, no. I drove here in my car."

"Oh."

....

"You want to see my car, don't you?"

"So much!"

He rolled his eyes and crossed the parking lot with me hot on his heels. I practically bounced as we walked leisurely to his car. I imagined it to be something similar to Sasuke's car, with all its glowing buttons and gadgets. I picked up my pace as my imagination took over, leaving reality and logic behind. My vision became grander and grander until, finally, logic smacked me in the face. Unfortunately, logic just wasn't enough and my mind began to wander yet again.

But this time Neji's voice pulled me back to real life and I forgot all about my stupid, childish day dream, focusing on the small, silver...Volvo. I blinked once. That's it? No Ferrari? No Range Rover? Nothing but a petty Volvo. I couldn't help but let the disappointment show on my face. Neji noticed.

"Surprised?"

"Very much so."

He smirked. "It's built for speed not flash."

I looked up at him in interest. "You like to drive fast?"

He nodded. "Oh yes."

"Well that's something we have in common."

"Surprised again?"

"Indeed."

There were a few beats of silence. In these beats of silence, I vaguely noted that Neji and I were leaning closer and closer towards each other. Also I noted that we had seated ourselves on the hood of Neji's Volvo.

"We should get back to the mall. Don't want Sakura to think I'm cheating on her."

"Yeah. But you would never cheat on her, right?"

He thought about that for a minute. Doubt crossed his face during that minute. "No," he finally answered. "No, I wouldn't. And you wouldn't cheat on Sasuke, correct?"

My first reflex was to scream, "WHAT?" at him and tell him that we were not, in any way, shape, or form, dating. ...Except we were. Damn.

I shook my head in response. "Nope." He half-smiled.

"Good. Now I know I can trust you."

I grinned at him. "And now I know I can trust _you_."

"Ah, touche."

We hopped off the hood of Neji's car and began to amble back to the shopping center. As we entered the building and walked in the general direction of the food court we passed by a salon. Upon passing said salon, we heard a scream. A scream that only an Uchiha could give. And I was pretty damn sure that Sasuke was to composed to scream.

-x-X-x-

"What the hell have you done to my hair(1)!?" Kasumi shrieked at Ino.

"What do you mean, 'what have I done'? Your hair looks absolutely fabulous!"

"Ino, I had more hair on my head when I was _born_."

Ino rolled her saphire eyes. "Drama queen," she sang.

"'Drama queen? Drama queen!?' Ino, you cut off all my hair! When I said go shopping, I meant help me buy some clothes! Not a new face!" Kasumi screeched, eyes wide with panic.

Ino shrugged. "Relax. It's just hair. It'll grow back."

Kasumi hissed. "It'll grow back, will it? Well, how about we give little miss fashionista a taste of her own medecine!" Kasumi growled, lunging at Ino with a pair of scissors. Ino let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Miss! Miss! Please calm down and give the scissors back. We can't afford an injury," the receptionist pleaded. Kasumi handed back the alleged 'weapon' grudgingly and murmured, "Fine, but you're getting the bill."

"Gladly." Ino skipped cheerfully up to the counter and placed her dad's platinum credit card down with a snap. She flashed her gleaming teeth at the lady and punched in the pin number. The lady smiled back as the transaction went through saying, "come again soon!" when they walked out.

-x-X-x-

Neji and I stood outside the hair salon, watching as Ino and Kasumi walked out. Kasumi had scowl on her face, making her look much like her brother. Ino, on the other hand, had a brilliant smile on her face. As they walked (Ino skipped) to us, I could vaguely hear Ino saying stuff along the lines of,

"You look great! Guys will be all over you!"

While Kasumi replied with a loud groan, "I don't _want _guys all over me! I_ like _being single."

At this Ino gasped over-dramatically. "You actually _like _being single? Impossible. _No one_ likes being single."

"Well I do. And even if I was dating, which I'm not, I'd like to be in a serious relationship. Not some one night stand."

"But one night stands are fun," Ino protested. "I mean, you go to some party, meet some hot guy, share a few dances with him and it means absolutely nothing!"

At Ino's last statement, the duo had reached an amused Neji and a bewildered me. Kasumi rolled her eyes.

"You just don't get it, Ino. Right, Tenten?"

I stared hesitantly at both of them. "I, uh, wouldn't really know. I've never had a one night stand or a serious relationship." I looked away from Neji, the blood rushing to my head.

"Oh," they said in unison.

There was silence and then…

"Kasumi?" Gaara's voice questioned.

Kasumi squeaked. "I can't let him see me like this!" she whispered. Ino raised one slender eyebrow.

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because!" Kasumi attempted to hide behind Ino.

"Because?"

"Because if you don't hide me, I will get Sasuke's fan club to cut off those golden locks or yours in your sleep!"

Ino paled. "Let's get her out of here!"

We scurried away (Neji walking calmly behind us), ushering Kasumi along. We quickly scampered into a lingerie store. At this, Neji froze.

"I'm not going in there," he stated evenly.

"Neji! Now is not the time to be a wuss!"

"I am not a wuss."

"Maybe not all the time, but right now, yes, you are!"

Neji frowned but walked in anyway, averting his eyes from any women in the store.

"Tenten, I am not pleased. We will discuss this later."

I giggled quietly as he said this. Meanwhile, Ino hastily shoved Kasumi into a dressing room. A sales lady noticed this and came over.

"If you're not trying anything on, you can't use the change room," she told us, a bratty tone to her voice.

"Oh, sorry," Ino began in a fake apologetic tone. She whirled around to face the change room door. "Kasumi, what's your bra size?"

"_Ino_!"

"Okay, okay. Jeez. I'll just guess."

Ino dashed off to inspect the inventory, leaving Neji and I alone. Again. I silently thanked and cursed Kami for his generosity and cruelty. Rocking back and forth on my heels, I opened my mouth to start a conversation. I stopped myself before I even began. No need to embarrass Neji (or myself) any further. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Neji.

As far as I know, Neji never really was a paranoid person. Before this, he was calm and collected. Like Sasuke. If he was self-conscious about anything, he never showed it. He was the epitome of cool. Right now on the other hand, he looked like a man who belonged in a "home for the helpless", if you know what I mean.

His pale eyes never left the floor or the ceiling as we wandered around the lingerie store. I was currently examining a pair of panda-print sleepwear when Ino sprinted over to me, holding a very lacy bra and matching knickers. I stared blankly back at them.

"Tenten!" she exclaimed. (Neji looked up at my name only to look right back at the floor while muttering a muted, "Oh God.") "What do you think?"

"Er, wow?"

Ino rolled her turquoise orbs. "No freaking duh, wow! Don't you think this will look absolutely fantastic against Kasumi's skin!"

"Um, yes...?"

She huffed loudly. "You're no help. I'll just go get Kasumi to try this on."

I followed after her. "This, I have to see."

Ino strutted confidently over to the change room and threw the set over the door.

"Ino, what the hell is this?"

"They're called undergarments. They just happen to be a little more sexy then you're used to."

"I can see that."

"Just try them on."

"Fine."

5 minutes later (followed by a heavy sigh from the dressing room) the door creaked open painfully slow and out came Kasumi. I had to admit that Kasumi did look great. Although, she is an Uchiha so there really shouldn't be any doubt about that. Kasumi sighed.

"I feel like a 'Victoria's Secret' model. But not in a good way."

"Ugh! Fine, don't buy them," Ino huffed and stalked out of the store. I became aware of Neji next to me.

"Can I please leave now." It wasn't a question, it was a demand. I nodded. "Thank you." Neji speed-walked out of the store. I glanced at Kasumi. She smiled weakly up at me.

"Get me out of here, please!"

I giggled. "Sure."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Authoress' Note: Ugh. I'm so sorry! Not only was this chapter a piece of shit, but it was short too. I am the worst. **

**(1) I'll post the link to a picture that looks like the hairstyle Kasumi has. Except her hair is midnight blue:P**

**Anyways, to Angelica (anonymous reviewer) thanks so much for saying you like my Gaara OC chapter! It gave me a really happy feeling. :D**

**Also to l.d (also anonymous) you sent me a review complaining about my slow updates. I did specifically say in my profile that I don't have a lot of time to update and that I will almost NEVER update right away. As for threatening to stop reading my story, go ahead. It doesn't bother me. I have other people who like my story and that's what's important. I don't mean to sound like I'm picking on you but this is my honest opinion.**

**Now that that's done, review please!**

**~KiwiBlossom**


	15. Chapter 14:Oh Snap

Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over

I don't own Naruto or any songs used in this fanfiction.

**Authoress' Note: First of all, I'm not sure if anyone noticed but I posted the **_**completed **_**chapter 13 already. So you can ignore the Authoress' Note that I posted. Also, if you are confused by this chapter, it means that you didn't read chapter 13. I advise you to go and read it. Even if it was a piece of shit. **

**In other news, I have decided to partly get rid of the talent show. I had a whole thing planned out but now I'm just too damn lazy. Also, I posted a NejixTen Christmas One-shot. Please go and read it. Anyways, enjoy another craptastic chappie.**

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I sighed heavily while slamming my head down on my desk. _Tsunade is a moron. Tsunade is a moron. Tsunade is a moron. _I told myself this mantra repeatedly, even though this was partly my fault. Okay, it was _all_ my fault.

Now, you're probably wondering what 'it' is. 'It' is the talent show. The stupid, insignificant talent show that was stressing our dear principal out. I oh-so casually suggested that she should cancel it if it was bothering her so much. Of course, I didn't actually think that she would listen.

So now I'm stuck with a very pissed off mob outside my house. For you see, our vice-principal (the idiot) didn't exactly understand the meaning of 'confidentiality.' I specifically told Tsunade to tell Jiraiya (the vice-principal) NOT to say my name over the announcements. And he forgot.

And here I am, holed up in my room, for I fear for my life (and my clothes) that I will be ripped to shreds if I go out there. Damn it.

But it's really not all my fault! I just was trying to be a nice person! I was just trying to help our already hopelessly alcoholic principal to be a little more...relaxed. Never before did I realize how much my school loves the talent show. It's kind of scary.

I groaned loudly as I heard my mother shriek as another tomato hit our window. I dully noted that she stuck her head out the front door to calmly ask them to stop. I think she just got hit.

_Bring! Bring! BRING!_

Damn. My phone.

I peeked out from beneath my arms. Ugh, it's on my bed.

"Mom, can you get my phone!?"

My mother stormed upstairs, wiping rotten cabbage off her face, hair, and shirt.

"Honey, your phone is right there," she said, gesturing to it with her free hand.

"But it's SO FAR AWAY."

She rolled her eyes at my dramatics and handed me my phone.

"Lazy," she whispered on her way out.

"I heard that!" I yelled after her as I answered the phone. "Hello?" I asked groggily.

"_Hey. Did the assholes from our school give up yet?_"

Kasumi. "No. I think they just pelted my mom with decaying cabbage."

"_...Gross._"

"Yup."

"_On the bright side, I think my dad is going to sue Sakura and the school for letting me dress this 'indecently'._"

Oh yes. The dare.

In case you haven't already figured it out, today was Kasumi's first day of the 'skanky clothing' dare. (Yes, we name out dares. Like the, 'get stick out of Sasuke's ass' dare. Which failed miserably if anybody cares.) Now, Kasumi being Kasumi prayed to Kami all of last night, hoping that he would fulfill her prayers and have Sakura not have any recollection of said dare. It didn't work.

Sakura arrived at school today with a large garbage bag full of 'whore-ish' clothing (Apparently that's what she and Neji were doing at the mall on Saturday.) and dragged the female Uchiha violently into the bathroom (a source informed me there was a lot of cussing and threatening). In said bathroom she gave Kasumi the clothing in which she was supposed to wear for the rest of the day. This did not bode well with the raven-haired beauty.

Of course, Kasumi _is_ the Queen of Dares. There fore, she accepted the clothes and dutifully changed in the bathroom stall. She emerged wearing a pair of black short shorts (Don't worry, they weren't so tiny that you could see her ass every time she took a step.) with red plaid suspenders hooked on them that were on her shoulders and criss-crossed in the back. She wore a plain black t-shirt with the Britain flag in the center. For shoes, she wore her own black high-tops with black socks with two red stripes on the top that came up to just below her knees. For make-up, thick, long eyelashes and a flattering red lipstick. A black beret completed the look.

And despite the fact that the Uchiha looked fabulous, she glared harshly at Sakura and Ino (because Ino just _had_ to be involved some how) and growled,

"I better not be dressed like this tomorrow."

and stalked away.

I giggled at the memory, causing Kasumi to demand what was so funny.

"Nothing. I was just remembering your face when you walked out of the bathroom this morning."

"_That was _not_ funny_," she protested. "_I could have been molested, you know_."

It was my turn to roll my eyes at the dramatics. "Whatever, Kasumi. You know you looked good."

"_No, I did not. All I can say is that I better not have to wear that tomorrow_."

"And all I can say, is that I have to go. Bye!"

"_Bye_."

I flopped onto my back and sighed. Dear God, I hope I don't have to go through this tomorrow.

-x-X-x-

Ino 'boo'-ed loudly and flung a handful popcorn at the television screen.

"No! Don't sleep with that back-stabbing home-wrecker, Travis!" she wailed.

"Must you throw popcorn at my T.V.?" I asked.

"When Travis is about to sleep with Alicia, yes."

"Fair enough."

Kasumi and Sakura shared an eye roll, while Hinata wandered back into the living room with a plate of brownies.

"You guys don't have to stake out at my house anymore. I think the angry mob is gone," I teased.

"Oh, we know," Sakura said. "But Ino and I aren't allowed into Kasumi's house, Neji is being strangely distant so I don't want to bother him in his own habitat and I've already crashed at Ino's place for the past two weeks."

"Of course. Why didn't I think of that."

We shared a laugh.

My God, it's nice to be around sane people. I'm a little afraid to go to school, after what happened this week. Not only was I glared at by most of the school's population, Principal Tsunade _thanked_ me for my "kind words of wisdom" in front of everyone. Yeah, thanks a lot, Tsunade.

So now I'm stuck in my house watching crappy soap operas that only a meat-head like Ino could get emotional about. I sighed to myself. And yet, this whole time I've been trying to think of a way to make all of the little brats happy again.

Because, even though they did pelt my mother-figure mercilessly with rotten fruit and vegetables, the whole 'talent-show-being-canceled' thing was completely my fault. And now that I accepted that, I have been beating my brains out trying to uncover a way to do the talent show without actually _doing_ the talent show.

"_First I was afraid, I was petrified_

_Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side..."_

Ino slid into the living room while singing these lyrics, making dramatic faces accordingly. Sakura slid in right after the blonde, mimicking her facial expressions as well. Hinata and Kasumi followed after along with my old karaoke machine on a skateboard. They sang the following lyrics together.

"_And I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong_

_And I grew strong and I learned how to get along_

_And so you're back from outer space_

_I just walked in to find you here with that look upon your face _

_I should have changed that stupid lock_

_I should have made you leave your key_

_If I had known for just one second you'd back to bother me!"_

They burst out into fits of laughter, the instrumental track still running. The four friends collapsed onto the couch with me. Their laughter slowly died into muffled giggles. I grinned craftily.

"I got it!"

-x-X-x-

I power-walked to school the next day, towing the karaoke machine with me. Upon my arrival, Kasumi had changed into her slut outfit (almost black skinny jeans, the same shirt as yesterday with a dark wash jean vest and bright red chunky peep-toe stilettos) and was sulking/chatting with Gaara at our usual table. Was it just me, or did she fidget with her now-short hair a lot more?

Anyway, I clunked the machine down in between them. Kasumi eyed it suspiciously.

"Tenten, what the hell is that thing doing at school?" she asked, sending a mystified Gaara a worried glance.

I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily. "I ruined the talent show. And I should be the one to fix it. Which is exactly what I'm doing," I stated calmly. I pressed the 'on' button on the singing device and picked up the microphone.

"Hey everybody. It's Tenten."

Cue the boos and frowns of disapproval.

My small group of friends glared at everyone until they quieted down. I smiled at them.

"Um, I know that most of you, probably all of you now that I think about it, pretty much hate me. Actually you probably loathe my very existence but..."

I fidgeted uncomfortably at all the eyes staring at me. I forced myself to continue on.

"Look, I'm really sorry about the talent show, but I honestly didn't think that this school cared about it was much as you do. I thought, 'So what? It's just another excuse to get out of class for a day. Just another stupid way for people to show off. ...Just another dumb, pointless talent show.'"

I swallowed the lump in my throat and pursued on in my speech.

"But I was wrong. I shouldn't have said what I said. I should've just shut up and listened to Principal Tsunade rant on about how stressful this thing was. But that's what I should have done, not what I did do. So I've been thinking long and hard about what I could do to make it up to all of you. I considered hosting my own talent show. Then I realized that none of you would come because you were all too pissed at me.

Then I thought how about trying to convince Tsunade to re-do the show. Once again, I noticed that that would never work. And so, last night while my friends sang their hearts out in an effort to cheer me up, it came to me. We don't need a stage, or lights, or even microphones, for that matter. We just need a stereo, our friends, and a table. That's all I really have to say, besides I hope you enjoy the show."

The teens seated in the courtyard exchanged looks of confusion. I leaned down to press the play button. The 'How Many Times, How Many Lies' wordless track pulsed through the decrepit speakers.

I swallowed again, and opened my mouth to sing.

"'They would try to tell me something

Oh, but I was hearing nothing

When they said you was just playing me

I didn't listen

I didn't want to

You couldn't find a blinder fool'"

Sakura climbed up on the table, plugged the second microphone into the jack and began to sing her part.

"'I'm here

Searching through the wreckage

Wondering why the message never got through

And I found I misplaced all of my faith

How could I put my faith in you?'"

Hinata copied Sakura, belting out her own part, improvising slightly by doing a bit of vocal acrobatics.

"'How many times? How many lies?

How long you been sneaking?

How long you been creeping around?

How many lies?

How many times?

Were you here deceiving

While I was here believing in you...'"

Kasumi hopped onto the table and jammed the plug into the jack. We echoed her at appropriate times, just like we'd practiced over and over again.

"'Got to put the blame on myself

Should've known with everyone else

Just knowing they knew you was just bad news

I should've walked out (I shoulda walked out)

I should've seen clear (I shoulda seen clear)

I'm glad your sad ass is out of here'"

Ino was the last to join us on our table. By now the whole crowd was into it. Some swaying, some (guys) cat-calling and whistling.

"'I've gone and thrown out all the records

All the ones that ever reminded me of you

I've gone and tore up all the pictures

'Cause there was not one shred of truth'"

We sang this chorus together.

"'How many times? How many lies?

How long you been sneaking?

How long you been creeping around?

How many lies?

How many times?

Were you here deceiving

While I was here believing in you...'"

We skipped straight to the bridge. I sang the first three lines, then Kasumi sang the next three, then Hinata sang the following two lines, Sakura sang one line alone but then did a harmony with Ino for the last two.

"'There were so many lies

There were so many times

Don't know why I stayed by you.

There were so many days

There were so many games

I should've thrown your sad ass out.

Only the dumbest fool

Would have trusted you...

I finally got wise

I opened up my eyes

The game is over'"

The music was quiet for the first half of the chorus but then was in full swing.

"'How many times? How many lies?

How long you been sneaking?

How long you been creeping around?

How many lies?

How many times?

Were you here deceiving

While I was here believing in you...'"

The music shut off completely just like we planned.

"'How many times?

How many lies?'"

The school (by this time almost the whole school was in the courtyard) burst into applause. Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Kasumi, and I beamed out at them, joined hands and bowed.

-x-X-x-

**AN: Like I said, pretty craptastic. It's only really long because of all the singing and lyrics and junk:P. Anyways, I used the Girlicious version of the song and all of it was done by ear so if some of the words are messed then you can fully blame me.**

**In other news (lol, I LOVE using that), I will be going on a trip to Caribbean on the 18 – the 27, I think. There fore, I won't be able to update because I most likely will not have Internet or a computer. But that aside, I hope you enjoyed this and please go read my one-shot! I need your criticism! **

**~KiwiBlossom**

**Also, I FREAKING LOVE spell check. XD Byez!**


	16. Chapter 15:Help is on the Way

Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over

I don't own Naruto or any songs used in this fanfiction.

**I canNOT believe I haven't updated since before Christmas. I can't believe I LET myself not update for that long. Sometimes I am such a lazy-ass. Anyway, I'm really really sorry. Again. Although, I did mention that I am on semi-hiatus. But that's a really horrible excuse. So enjoy this thing I call a chapter.**

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

My.

Cheeks.

Hurt.

I have been smiling non-freaking-stop for the past _four days. _"Why?" You may ask? Because I had to go be a good bloody person again and save the bloody talent show. Now everyone seems to think that I'm immortal or something. For the love of God, people, it was just a stupid performance where you got to show-off! _Honestly!_

On a happier note, everyone is back to loving me again! Albeit, they're a little over the top but it's better than nothing. I sighed heavily. Only a few more days until something better will come along.

Hopefully.

-x-X-x-

I collapsed onto my couch with a bag of chips.

"I am so tired," I whined, tilting my head back and staring at the ceiling.

"Oh, don't worry," Sakura said and squeezed my shoulder. "It'll all blow over eventually. Besides, no one said that you had to smile at _everyone_."

Kasumi plunked herself down next to Sakura. "See," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'm not the only one who thinks you need to be nice to the entire population."

"I never said that I was going to be nice to the whole freaking school, I just said that everyone deserves a smile every once in a while," I murmured with an eye-roll.

"True, but are you willing to sacrifice your jaw for other peoples' happiness?" Kasumi retorted.

"Touche. I just... I just wish that everything would go back to normal. I'm so sick of being _sweet_ to people. I want to be ignored again!"

The girls stared at me.

"Okay..."

-x-X-x-

_One week later_

It's over! Oh happy days! No more smiling, waving, pretending to be enjoy every moment of this torture! Oh, God – I don't think I've ever been this happy.

Someone finally did something to out shine me. Okay, well, they didn't exactly "shine," but they did distract the school.

This poor girl named Shawna was infected with an STD and apparently the word got out. She needs to take special medication and everything. And, although I do pity the girl, I'm incredibly grateful. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably still be grinning my face off.

I was dragged out of my thoughts by a revolting sound coming from the back Kasumi's throat. I looked at her with a confused expression on my face. In response she rolled her eyes in the direction of Karin and her crew. I quirked my eyebrow. What was the big deal? Karin always picked on people – more specifically girls – and although she was usually bothered by it Kasumi tried not to get involved (she was on the brink of suspension so she was trying not to get in any fights). I mean, the kids usually stuck up for themselves eventually and all was right again.

Kasumi sighed.

"She's picking on Shawna Freeman," she said in flat monotone. My eyes widened slightly.

"Oh."

We sat in silence as we watched Shawna get a verbal beating. Finally, Kasumi stood up.

"I cannot fucking take this anymore," she muttered angrily.

Storming over there with a truly frightening aura surrounding her, Kasumi stopped in front of Karin and put a hand on her hip. Karin stared back at her with a bored look.

"What do you want? I'm kind of busy here," Karin said, gesturing towards Shawna.

"Yeah, chewing Shawna out! Why do you do it, Karin? Do you get some twisted happiness out of tormenting innocent people?" Kasumi demanded.

"Oh, I don't think little Shawna here is very innocent, do you?" Karin said with a fake sweet tone to her voice. "Honestly, Shawna, did you really think he loved you?" she mocked, "I bet he _knew _that he was infected and just wanted to send the message on to someone else."

"Yeah, you would know that first hand," Shawna mumbled quietly. Kasumi snickered.

"What did you say, bitch?!"

The three girls burst into a heated argument with Karin's back up putting there two cents in here and there.

Too wrapped up in the fight, I hadn't noticed that someone had sat down next to me.

"Does that Uchiha girl go looking for fights or does she just really hate Karin?"

I jumped and turned to look at the offending person who had caused me to bruise my butt. I saw Neji sitting casually next to me with an amused smirk on his lips. I clutched my chest, feeling my heart rate decrease to normal.

"Please never do that again," I said with a mock-serious look on my face. "I'm kind of on edge lately. I don't really want anymore stalker-fans."

"Fair enough," Neji said with a slight inclination of his head. "You didn't answer my question, though."

"Oh. Um, I think she just really hates Karin," I said with a nervous laugh. Neji smirked.

My breath caught. Does he have to look so devastatingly good all the time? It's going to be really hard to be friends with him if he keeps looking at me like that...

I cleared my throat roughly. "So anything on your mind?" I asked with what I hoped looked like an easy going smile.

Neji shrugged carelessly. "Nothing much."

We sat in a increasingly uncomfortable silence and watched Kasumi give Karin the infamous Uchiha glare. Karin had obviously said something to piss her off and now, raven hair flowing behind her (is it just me, or is her hair growing really fast?), she walked right up to Gaara, gripped his collar and kissed him. Hard.

My eyes bugged out of my head as I openly gaped. Out of my peripheral vision I took note that Neji had that same amused expression on his face, like he knew both of them were enjoying that kiss. Weird. Anyway, Kasumi finally pulled back and, a triumphant smirk on her face, gave Karin a quick "Hmph" and walked back to our table (Gaara in tow).

She sat down easily next to me. I gave her an 'you-are-out-of-your-mind' look.

"What?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

"What do you mean, 'what'? Are you insane!?" I exclaimed and added in a hushed tone, "I thought you didn't want anyone to know."

She seemed to mull over this for a moment. "You know, I thought so, too, but when Karin was telling me that I was 'depriving' Gaara or whatever, I realized that I really don't care anymore. I mean, what is the point of being so secretive? Besides, now I can do this-" she leaned over and kissed Gaara for a little longer than necessary. "-and not feel embarrassed."

Smiling at her insane logic, I pondered over whether I would ever have the guts to do what Kasumi did. Would I honestly be able to kiss Nej- I mean, any random guy, just to prove a point? Probably not. The truth is I don't have enough guts to do that. Plus with the whole STD thing, I think I'm going to a bit more paranoid than usual.

I was pulled out of my thoughts again by the loud ringing bell, signaling everyone that lunch was over. I scooped my books up into my arms and dumped the remainder of my lunch into the nearest garbage can. Jogging lightly, I caught up and linked arms with Ino and Hinata on our way to chemistry.

"So, how bogus was it that Mr. Herman gave us all that homework? He is such a cow," Ino complained.

Hinata and I burst into a fit of giggles as Ino glanced at us weirdly.

"What?" she asked.

"You called Mr. Hair-man a cow!" I gasped out.

"And what's wrong with that?"

"I-It's just so...random!" Hinata choked.

Rolling her eyes, Ino dragged us towards the chemistry lab.

-x-X-x-

"I will never understand the purpose of his teaching degree," Sakura said, shaking her head. She sat with Kasumi and Temari (against Ino's wishes). Temari was chatting animatedly with another girl sitting across from her.

"I have a feeling no one ever will," Kasumi added with a sigh, dropping her head into her hands.

"Good point. Does anyone even know if he _has_ a degree?" Ino said with an eyeroll.

"Oh, be nice," Hinata scolded. "I think Mr. Hatake is quite inspiring."

"Not in the punctuality department, I'm afraid," Kasumi joked. We all laughed loudly, Hinata giving Kasumi a repremanding look.

"Well speak of the devil..." Ino muttered and shifted so that she was facing the front of the room.

The whole class squirmed until they got comfortable in their chairs, facing forward to look with rapt attention at Mr. Kakashi. He may let us slack off but he's still a teacher. And yet, the room felt oddly tense. The light-hearted feel the classroom always had was lost, Kakashi's routine casual swagger was replaced with fast, clipped pacing, back and forth across the room. There was an unusual pucker between his eyebrows, making me finally notice that he really was older than he looked.

The tension was starting to build, causing the students squirm in discomfort this time. We all glanced at each other. A thousand questions ran through everyone's heads; Did the board finally discover that we weren't actually doing much work in class? If so, did that mean that Mr. Hatake got a suspension - or worse: fired?

My eyes flew around the room, looking at each of my classmates faces. They all seemed to be thinking the last thought. Kakashi couldn't get fired! He wasn't just a teacher, he was a friend. Hell, he was one of us! As much as no one wanted to admit, we all felt some kind of affection towards Mr. Hatake. And as I scanned each and every face in detail, everyone seemed to come to the same realization. Thus, the mayhem insued.

It all started with one innocent question from Hinata, the only one actually brave enough to ask the question.

"Mr. Hatake...were you fired?"

Kakashi's rapid steps halted at the end of the sentence. He turned to face the class in a jerky, awkward movement.

"What? No. Why would I be fired? I've been teaching you what you need to know all year. Not correctly, I suppose..." He added the last part more to himself than to the class.

...

"What are you talking about? You haven't taught us _anything_!"

"Yeah, my brother took Chemistry in highschool and he said there would be more, you know, chemicals and stuff!"

"I only took this class for extra credit..."

"I thought we were going to get to blow stuff up!"

"Omigod. What am I going to put on my colledge resume!? 'Is skilled at dilly-dallying and wasting time'!? What kind of colledge will accept someone like that?"

A sharp whistle cut off the loud shouts. Fourty-five heads snapped to the front of the class to see Shikamaru removing his fingers from his mouth, slouching lazily next to Kakashi.

"Thank-you, Shikamaru. You may return to your seat," Kakashi said firmly, quite out-of-character. Said boy slinked to his seat, tilted his chair back and rested his head on the wall behind him.

Mr. Kakashi cleared his throat authoritively. We looked back to him.

"Now, to answer your question, Hinata - I am not fired. In fact, I was just in Principle Tsunade's office discussing my class with her. She was congradulating me on a job well done. I'm receiving an award next week, actually."

There was silence.

"Wait, what?" Kiba Inuzuka said, standing up.

Kakashi cleared his throat again. "I said I'm receiving an award for my new course."

"What new course? Chemistry's been around for _ages_." Kiba's confusion spread through the class of students. Hushed murmurs started up among a few gossip-ers. "Come to think of it, why _do_ we have two Chemistry classes?"

More hushed murmurs spread across the classroom. Everyone glanced at each other, eyebrows furrowed. Hinata let out a whoosh of air.

"D-don't mind me asking, but...do any of you read the description of the class before you sign up for it?"

Lots of "no"'s and "there's a description?" were said in reply. Another harsh gush of air passed through Hinata's lips.

"There are two Chemistry classes because one class - the one Mr. Orochimaru teaches - is the class that involves chemicals, atoms, and what-not. Mr. Hatake's class teaches about 'chemistry' as in interacting with other people." Hinata cleared her throat awkwardly. "It's for people that have self-esteem problems."

I looked up at Hinata from my sitting position to oggle her slightly. I didn't really think that Hinata was serious but by her expression I knew she was being honest.

"I didn't know you took your self-esteem issues seriously, Hina," Ino mumured quietly. Hinata let out a small smile.

"I-I didn't, but thanks to Mr. Hatake I realized how important having confidence is and he helped me gain some. " She turned with determination to face Kakashi. "I think you deserve that award. Congradulations."

We were stunned into silence. "Th-thank you, Hinata. I appreciate that," Kakashi said with a small smile. "But, that's not what I'm so...concerned about. It seems that a certain teacher reported an inappropriate-" Kakashi seemed to strugle to think of way to say the next few words. "-Ah, screw it. Someone mentioned that some students were dressing like whores and sluts which makes some parents uncomfortable which means that Tsunade has to do something about it," he said in a rush.

"Your point is...?" Kasumi said, left eyebrow raised skeptically.

"Well, um, let me just put it this way: Miyagami High is going uniform." Kakashi winced, waiting for the madness to inssue. And so it did.

Bursts of outrage echoed through the room, fashionistas broke down in tears while others glanced at each other in pure confusion. I looked at all of my friends, gaging their reactions. Ino was screaming her heart out, Sakura looked, in a word, stunned, Hinata looked astonished at everyone's reactions, and Kasumi was twisting her head to look at everyone like they were insane. But through-out all of the ranges of emotions, I noticed one face in particular. Karin stood at the back of the classroom, clones behind her, chin slightly lifted, and a look of satisfaction on her heavily made-up face. I frowned thoughtfully at this. She had something to do with this, I'm sure. Shikamaru's crisp whistle stopped me from taking further actions, though. Huh. I hadn't even noticed him walk to the front.

Shikamaru removed his fingers from his mouth once more and returned quietly to his seat.

"Thank you, again," Kakashi said with a tight smile.

"Troublesome..." I thought I heard Shikamaru mutter under his breath.

"Now, I know expressing yourselves is very important to all of you and your principal understands that. Due to this fact, she has decided to hold a vote." I watched as Karin's smug expression faltered slightly. "This vote is for parents and parents only. If you try to hack or fix this vote in any way, Principle Tsunade will not only be incredibly pissed off, but she will fry your ass," Kakashi finished, staring directly at Naruto and Kiba (and possibly Shikamaru? Perhaps he can hack into the school's computer?) at the mention of screwing with the voting system. "You are dismissed." He waved his hand at the door just as the bell rang.

-x-X-x-

"Well, that was confusing," Sakura said at break while we were sitting at our usual table.

"Very," I agreed.

"I wonder what our uniforms will look like," Hinata mused thoughtfully. "Do you think they'll be very traditional? Like, plaid skirts, blouses, knee socks...?"

"Why are you acting as if we've already lost the battle!" Ino said, appalled. "We can beat this thing! I'll even start a protest and I'll make posters and and..."

"I don't get why you're freaking out about this. They're just uniforms. Besides, they might be cute," Kasumi said with an eye-roll thrown in.

"Kasumi, there are so many things wrong with that sentence. One of them being you called something cute that wasn't a puppy or something similar," Ino retorted.

"Nice."

"Well one thing's for sure; who ever filed that complaint is going to get it," Sakura said with a pitiful shake of her head. "I feel so bad for them."

"What do you mean?" Hinata questioned, coming out of her musings for a moment.

"Well, artistic expression is so important at Miyagami and lots of people express themselves through clothing," Sakura explained simply.

"So...?" Kasumi prodded.

"So, if somebody is trying to take that away, everybody is going to try and convince that person to with-draw their negative comment; Thus, avoiding the whole uniform thing. And what is the easiest form of persuation?"

"Violence," We answered immediately.

"Exactly."

"Crap."

-x-X-x-

Low and behold, Karin got exactly what she had coming. Fortunately - or unfortunately, depending how look at it - no one bothered Karin during the entire morning. The afternoon was a different story.

I was just heading to our regular table (now known as the Talent Show Table) when I heard some noise. Now, the cafeterias are usually filled with the typical animated chatter, but this time it seemed different, angry. I redirected my route to where I thought the sound was coming from and soon stumbled upon the answer. There was a large mob of people gathered around the table Karin and her crew of skanks usually sat at and no one looked happy. Each person seemed to be yelling over one another with Karin cowering in the middle. The weirdest thing of all, though? Ino was in the middle with her. Yelling at the group _against _Karin. What was up with that?

I shoved my way into the middle of the mob and finally got a hold of Ino.

"What are you doing!?" I hollered over the screaming of our school.

"I'm helping her!" Ino yelled back, jabbing a thumb in Karin's general direction.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Uh, because we hate her?"

"We do not! Well, maybe Kasumi, but I suppose she has a good reason."

I rolled my eyes. "Ino, we need to get out of here, other wise we're going to get run over!"

"Where are we going to go?"

I shrugged helplessly. "I don't know! Where can we go that no one will find us-"

"Pssst!" I heard someone hiss loudly. Ino and I whirled around to see the rest of the gang gesturing wildly.

"Come on!" Sakura hissed at us. "Do you want to be beaten to an inch of your life?"

"We're coming, we're coming!" I whisper-shouted back.

"Come on, you," Ino growled and yanked Karin's arm, dragging her into the closet.

We squished in and shut the door, everyone groping around blindly in the air, desperately trying to find a light switch.

"Ha!" I heard Ino whisper-yell in triumph as a dingy lightbulb cast an eery glow around the confined space.

"Thank God," Kasumi muttered, "What the hell were you two doing in there? You weren't the one to put in the complaint were you?"

"Gawd, no!" Ino exclaimed, horrified. "We were just-"

I shot Ino a look.

"Okay, fine, _I _was just trying to protect the whore before she was eaten."

"Uh, why?" The gang asked in perfect unison.

"Because...because..."

"Because?" Again in unison.

"I don't know! I mean, she's a human being, right? She derserves to be defended every once and awhile!" Ino glanced frantically at each of us. "Right?"

Hinata smiled brightly at our blonde friend. "Ino!" she said happily. "You're considering other people! I'm so proud of you!" She jumped up and down a little and then hussled over to give Ino a hug.

"Ah! No!" Kasumi said, staring at the two with an incrediculous expression on her face. "If you will recall this 'human being'-" She pointed an angry finger at Karin, who was huddled in the corner shaking slightly. "-was the one who broke my brother's heart and then went and screwed some guy three days later! She absolutely does _not _deserve to be saved or defended or whatever."

My eyes darted between Kasumi, Ino, and Hinata as did Sakura's. What's going on? What do we do? Is this some sort of thing that people bottle up until it just explodes like a volcano about to erupt? Or did this fight happen while I was away last year in Beijing visiting relatives and the whole time I've been back is just like the eye of a hurricane - the part where you think it's over but really the storm is just getting amped up for round two? My breathing rate increased and I huffed out, "You guys?" Everyone ignored me, still focused on the tangible tension in the small closet. "You guys!?" I cried, my voice spiking sharply, almost to the point where it was shrill. Everyone whipped their heads around to look at me. "I think I'm feeling a little claustrophobic," I wheezed dangerously.

The girls stood facing me, mouths opening and closing like fish.

"For the love of god..." A cynical voice rang out among the silence. Karin stood and pushed through, grabbing my arm and stepping through the door into the crowd. Said crowd immediately began advancing, making my claustrophobia worse. Using her elbows to fight her way through the mob, Karin roared, "Get the hell out of my way! I've got someone who's having a panic attack here!" The school glared doubtfully at her and she replied by thrusting me in front and yelling, "Look at her!"

The crowd peered closely at me, making me breathe faster.

"I can't - I can't..." I took more breaths. They were becoming ragged and rushed. I was on the brink of hyperventilation.

"MOVE!" Karin bellowed and everyone - seeming to realize that I was indeed having a panic attack - parted like the Red Sea and let her drag me hurriedly to the nurse's office.

-x-X-x-

'_The sheets in the nurse's office are soft..._' I thought dreamily and snuggled down deeper. I inhaled the smell and smiled distantly. '_They smell so familiar..._' Again, I pushed my body further down under the covers. '_So warm._'

"Tenten?" A voice whispered in my ear. "Are you awake?"

"Mmm..." I mumbled back.

'_I love this blanket. This blanket is wonderful, all thick and cozy. So cozy and _so _thick..._' I stiffened. Wait, what? Cozy and thick? Soft and warm? The sheets in the nurse's office are stiff and thin, the complete opposite of these. And I rarely ever come visit the nurse so why would the sheets smell familiar? I know they most definitely don't smell _good_. They smell like medicine and sick people and hospitals.

I shot out of the bed and the comforting feeling of the blankets, swivelling my head frantically left and right. Finally, my eyes landed on a figure sitting casually in a straight-backed chair, legs crossed, amused smirk on his elegant face.

"Neji?"

His smirk grew. "Morning sleeping beauty," he said smoothly, "Did you enjoy your sleep?"

"Morning?" I exclaimed, fussing with the sheets and trying to escape but only making it worse. "How can it be morning already? I was just at school a while a go and Karin was taking me to nurse's and everyone was staring at me and I couldn't breath and and and..." I trailed off helplessly.

Neji's smirk was now bordering on a grin. "Calm down. You fainted the moment you entered the office. Karin put you on the bed, waited for the Mrs. Martin, left once she arrived and all your friends came piling in. They started panicking and didn't know what to do with you, I happened to be in the room helping Mrs. Martin and offered to take you home."

I tilted my head slightly. "But this is clearly _not _my house."

"Yes."

"So where are we?"

"My house."

I raised my eyebrows. "But this most definitely is not Hinata's house."

"You're right."

"So we are where?"

Neji let out a small frustrated sigh. "I told you: my house."

"But-" I interjected.

Another sharp sigh cut me off. "Tenten," he began. "This is not the Hyuuga Manor. This is _my _house. The one I told you about a while ago."

Narrowing my eyes in concentration, I poked around in my memory. '_Neji's house, Neji's house..._' I repeated over and over again while searching. '_Hmm..._' Now, when would I have seen him without the gang? I've never actually seen him without anyone now that I think about it. Have I? I mean, I saw him on the path in the forest I usually take home once. Did he mention a house when we talked? And suddenly, I remember.

"Oh! When I was walking home!"

He nods, smirk peeking out once more. I cocked my head to the side. "Wait a minute," I said, "If we're so close to my house why are we not there?"

It was Neji's turn to raise his eyebrows at me. "Tenten, do you have any idea how much you weigh? I'm lucky I even made it this far without dropping you."

I sniffed haughtily. "Hey! I don't weigh that much! I mean, I'm not stick thin, but I like to think I take care of myself."

"Are you involved in sports, Tenten?" he asked, a little abrupt and a lot off-topic.

"Uh, yeah; cross country, basketball, archery."

"So you have lots of muscle weight?"

"I suppose."

He raised his eyebrows again. I thought. "Aaaah, I understand now. Because muscle weighs more than fat which makes me heavier..."

"Exactly."

We sat in a comfortable silence in which I mulled over my surroundings. So this was Neji's house. It was very simple with a twin bed (the one I was currently in) pushed in to a corner and a neat maple dresser next to it with a small white lamp on it. Everything was either white or beige and was always prestene and neat and possibly sterile. There were no decorations except, lined up next to each other and perfectly straight, two pictures; one of Neji and an older man who looked very similar to him and the other a stiff potrait of Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi - Hinata's sister - with Hiashi standing behind them, one hand placed on each of Neji and Hinata's shoulders while Hanabi stood in front of everyone. The girls had awkward smiles placed on their identical faces while Hiashi simply stood, seeming like he was trying to stare you down through the photograph. On the other hand, Neji looked...hateful. He wasn't smiling nor trying to itimidate but was almost glaring. He looked bitter and cold, like if you even glanced at him he would climb out of the picture frame and hit you. Strange.

"So," I said, clearing my throat. "Thanks for helping me. You really didn't have to or anything but you did anyway and I just, uh, really appreciate it." 

"It was my pleasure," he said and graced me with a teeny, tiny smile.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Authoress' Note: So yeah. Done. It's really awful and I hate that I made everyone wait basically a year before I finally update and then the chapter is total crap. It sucks so bad that I almost didn't want to post it.**

**But I did.**

**I only did because I thought everyone deserved to read SOMETHING no matter how terrible. In other news, some thanks are due:**

**Thank-you Chirisaa-Chan for the review, favourites, and alerts! Lots of cookies or sweets or whatever you like in return.**

**Thanks so much storyaddicted for the fav:) You can have some cookies as well.**

**Thanks to debi.09. for the fav author! More cookies given out:D**

**Thank-you thank-you to fluffylover4life for the story alert:) Again, cookies, sweets, and whatever are sent your way.**

**And thanks MeganRulesTheWorld for the fav! Cookies, sweets, whatever.**

**And – most of all – thank-you ever so much to the people who didn't remove me from their alerts and kept up hope that I would update one day. The day has finally come and I hope that you've found a way to enjoy this chapter. I'll try as hard as I can to get more inspiration to continue writing and to update more often. Once more, I'm really really sorry for taking so long. **

**~KiwiBlossom**


	17. Chapter 16:Oh, The Things We Do For Love

Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over

I don't own Naruto or any songs used in this fanfiction

**Authoress' Note: WOW! Thanks for all the reviews! I can't believe how much people missed me on this site. It's a little amazing. So, thank-you so much and enjoy!**

"The thing is, gum isn't really a food so you have to buy something else to balance it," said Sakura as we walked up and down the food aisles of Wal-Mart. "You know?"

Everyone nodded in complete agreement. "It's like, you have to buy some cookies or cupcakes to fill your stomach after the fruity taste of the gum," Ino explained.

"Exactly."

We turned around another shelf, heading into the candy section, while the girls discussed the pros and cons of chips combined with diet soda. They continued to talk as I sipped carefully at my coffee, not really paying attention to the conversation but just wandering behind the rest of the group. I had been a little zoned out the past few days just because I couldn't stop thinking about when I'd been at Neji's house.

We'd talked for a little while longer before he walked me home. Our hands brushed lightly as we discussed random things from music (he was more a classical guy where as I was into music I could work out or run to) to his dad (he'd passed away when he was thirteen and he'd never really gotten over it) and I'd gotten to know him a little more in-depth. We talked about my dad as well as the divorce. I told him that my mom and I were the ones that were supposed to crash his family vacation (it had been canceled at the last minute) and that my mom had just gotten super-depressed about it for reasons unknown. He was sympathetic and nodded his head, telling me that after his dad died his mom just went off the wall and finally OD'd.

When we got to my house, he graced me with one more small smile and a wave good-bye. I'd quite literally floated up to my room and had a very peaceful sleep full of Neji.

And somehow I'd ended up here, three days later, at Wal-Mart talking about chips and pop and whether or not Gerard Butler had a nice ass.

"I'm just saying, _300 _was an incredible movie. I mean, two hours of bare-chested guys with glistening six-packs? Heaven!" Ino sang.

"Oh, I don't know. The whole movie was a little too grotesque and violent for my liking," Hinata said, while scanning the nutritional facts from the back of a pack of skittles. "Good Lord, these things are basically just sugar, water, and dye," she said and placed them back, moving on to the next shelf.

"Are you kidding? Hinata, that was not even _close_ to violent. And you wanna see gross? Go watch the original _Texas Chainsaw Massacre_," Kasumi said as she placed a tub of sour keys into our cart.

"Oh dear God, no. I will never ever watch that movie again. It was _dis-gust-ing_," Sakura said, breaking the last word into syllables and enunciating each of them clearly. "Besides, I thought we all decided we were going to watch some rom-coms."

"But rom-coms are so," Kasumi waved her arms around in a vague gesture. "Romantic," she said and winced.

"Well, duh. They're called _romantic comedies _for a reason," Sakura said.

"Yeah, yeah. But they're so love-y dove-y and touch-y feel-y and just...gross."

Sakura and Ino rolled their eyes. "Whatever," they said in perfect unison.

"What do you want to watch, Tenten?" Hinata asked, tilting her head back and everyone turned their heads to look at me as well.

"Hm?" I muttered, looking up from my coffee cup.

"We asked what you wanted to rent," Ino prodded.

"Oh, um, whatever. It doesn't matter." The girls glanced at me skeptically. "You guys know I'll watch anything," I said with a smile.

"Alright..." They said, again in unison.

I spaced out again as we continued to roam the aisles. Why had they looked at me like that? I mean, I'd been like this for a while, I suppose. Maybe I'm starting to worry them? I'm fine, though. I'm just a little caught up in everything. I mean, that's the longest I've spent alone with Neji _ever_. Something happened that day. We'd become...close. We'd established that we couldn't, you know, date while he went out with Sakura, but we could be friends. But we'd had no time to get to know each other and everything was always so awkward before. Now, we could have normal conversations, say hi to each other in the halls, eat lunch together - just the two of us - and no one questioned about it. Everyone was _okay_. I got to hang out with Neji and it didn't affect a relationship. My emotions were wild and I couldn't decide how to feel: ecstatic or paranoid.

But I'd survived without busting out and giggling in anticipation whenever Neji came near and I'd kept myself in check. I was proud yet secretive. What went on all those days ago was our little secret. No one had to know and no one did. Neji and I were bonding and nobody cared enough to ask, or if they did, they didn't ask. And I liked it that way.

-x-X-x-

"What the hell happened to you last night?" Kasumi demanded. We were walking to our lunch table at break, my ever-present Starbucks cup in my hand.

"What do you mean?" I said distantly and took a sip of my coffee.

"Hello, we were supposed to run lines with Sakura, remember? She had a total breakdown 'cause you weren't there!"

"Oh, was that last night?" I replied. "Sorry. I was busy, I guess."

"Busy? Tenten, we were planning that forever. You know how important this is to her."

"Like I said, I'm sorry. I got...distracted."

That wasn't exactly true. Technically, I _was _distracted but not in the way of homework and whatnot. It was more like Neji had come over and we'd kind of sort of almost kissed again. We'd been studying again, something that had become some sort of ritual now, at my house. I guess I'd loss track of time and forgotten about the rehearsal. Then we'd been leaning toward each other, so close, until I pushed him back. We'd continued on as if nothing had happened.

Kasumi and I were nearing our table now, and I noticed Ino and Hinata were surrounding a slumped figure that seemed to be shaking violently. As we came closer, the figure became more clear, and I saw the mass of bubble-gum pink hair. Kasumi and I exchanged looks of equal confusion, picking up our pace.

"What's going on? Why's Sakura crying?" Kasumi asked, frantically glancing between Ino and Hinata. They shrugged together.

"I have no idea. She won't talk," Ino said, looking panicked herself.

"She just keeps crying and we can't get her to stop!" Hinata said, eyebrows creased in concern. "Honey, please just tell us what's wrong," she pleaded.

"I-I-I," Sakura blubbed before going off into another fit of sobs.

"Saki, what's wrong. You can tell us," I said, wrapping an arm around her.

"_Don't touch me_!" she screamed. I jumped away from her as requested.

"Okay, okay," I said, "We won't touch you."

"I don't care if _they _touch me," she snapped, looking disgustingly at me, "I just don't want _you _to."

"What?" I said, my eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.

"Neji broke up with me!" she finally cried, "And it's all your fault."

-x-X-x-

We hadn't talked in three weeks. I'd never gone that long without talking to anyone, let alone one of my best friends. I'd spent most of those days sitting at home leaving countless voice messages on Sakura's cell and talking to the rest of the girls. I'd told my mother; She'd gotten very mom-ish on me. Thankfully, she promised not to bring it up unless I wanted to talk about it. Which I didn't. Or, at least, not with her.

Apparently, Neji had come to my house just before breaking up with Sakura. I felt awful because I hadn't even seen it coming. I couldn't have warned her, or stopped it in anyway possible because stupid Neji was such a goddamn good actor. Suffice to say, Neji was avoiding my like the freaking plague and wouldn't even so much as glance at me in the halls. And oddly enough, I missed him. I missed our talks, our oddly comfortable silences, and everything that _was_ Neji Hyuuga. But at the same time, I missed Sakura. Like, our random discussions on hot guys (even though I didn't really participate in them), our tendency to sing really off-key to the radio, and just knowing that there was always going to be an _us_: a Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Kasumi, and Tenten.

But it was all over because I screwed it up.

I heard the phone ring and jumped up immediately to grab it. I answered it after only one ring. I'd gotten good at answering the phone first.

"Hello?" I said anxiously.

"_Tenten?_"

"Oh, hey, dad." I deflated at the sound of my dad's voice and frowned slightly. "What's up?"

"_Tenten, you know that I think that question is ridiculous._"

"Sorry."

"_That's okay. So, I was just phoning to see how you're doing._"

My frown deepened. Since when did my dad phone to 'see how I was doing'? "Good, I suppose," I answered suspiciously. "Why?"

"_I just wanted to see how my little girl was doing!_"

Yeah, right. My dad hadn't phone to just talk to me in a year and a half. He had a new little girl, Amy, who had to take care of and his real little girl had fallen to the bottom of his list a long time ago. "Oh. That's nice."

We sat in an uncomfortable silence for a minute or so before he finally cracked.

"_So your mother told me that you and your friend are in a bit of a fight_," he said.

Understatement of the year. "Yeah, I guess." We were silent again.

"_So you're okay then_?"

"Yeah."

"_Okay. Well, Yaz and I would really love it if you came and visited us next weekend._"

Already got a nick-name for her? God, he's annoying. "Yeah? That sounds...nice."

"_So you'll come?_"

I pretended to think about it and gave him the answer he wanted. "Maybe. Let me think about it. I want to come, but mom might need me."

"_Okay._" I could hear the relief in his voice at not having a direct yes or no answer. See, that was the thing with my dad: he wanted everything to be proper and right, but if he asked you a question, he never wanted a straight answer. Which is why Yasmin was perfect for him seeing that whenever you asked her a question she said, 'oh, whatever you want is fine'. "_That's fine. Take all the time you need, 'kay?_"

"'Kay."

"_I love you, sweetheart._"

"I love you, too, dad."

We hung up together and I flopped onto my back on my bed. This sucked royally. I'd talked to Hinata, Kasumi, and Ino so much over the past few days that we'd run out of things to say. I couldn't phone Neji to gripe to and Sakura wouldn't return my calls. Hell, I'd been so lonely I even tried talking to Sasuke! (It had gone terribly.)

I rolled heavily back onto my stomach and stared blankly out my window at the gloomy day. The weather seemed to be echoing the mood Miyagami High was in. Suddenly, the phone rang again and I leaped up to grab at it.

"Hello?" My voice was still high with anticipation. I frowned once more. Why couldn't I get a grip?

"_Tenten? Is that you?_"

"Naruto?" I said and actually pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it.

"_Yup! Sorry, I didn't recognize your voice. Why're you so shrill?"_

"Uh, no reason. What's up?"

"_Nothin'. I was just wondering if you wanted to come to the skate park with a couple of the guys._"

Now, this I actually thought about. Why hadn't I come up with this before? _Excercise_. It was the perfect thing. I could be in solitude, blast my music, work out my rage, everything! It was brilliant and I couldn't believe Naruto had thought of it.

"Um, not today, Naruto. I've got some other things I have to do."

"_Aw, too bad. Well, anytime you wanna go just give me a ring!_" I loved how perky his voice sounded, as if the had not a care in the world.

"I will definitely take you up on that offer."

"_Good. See ya, Tenten!_"

"See ya, Naruto."

And so with Naruto's bubbly voice wringing in my ears, I gathered up my bow and arrow (and other miscellaneous pointy objects) and headed off to the forest outside of the park just around the corner.

-x-X-x-

_Shwaak! Thud. _

Smiling at the satisfying sound of the arrow whizzing through the air and land square in the middle of the various targets I set up, I wiped the sweat off my forehead. I proudly examined each traditional target. An arrow was lodged securely in the middle of each circle and I grinned.

"Perfect," I whispered to myself.

Somehow, my frustration was making my normally amazing accuracy even better. I mean, my usual aim was pretty much bang-on, but that doesn't mean I don't screw up. My breath was a little ragged from all the exercise. I'd been trying different ways of aiming after I'd warmed up and, upon getting a little bored but not in any way ready to go home, had shot arrows in a bunch of different ways. Behind my back, backwards, raised above my head, you name it I'd probably done it. Eventually even that got boring and I'd spent the last half hour shooting handfuls of arrows.

My fingers were slightly bruised from pulling back the string, arrow ready to fly, over and over so I set my bow and quiver down and started rooting around in my bag until I found my knives. It was a weird talent, my accuracy, and I thought I'd never be able to use it. But then my cousin - who was really more like my older brother - gave me my first knife.

It was small and light with a thick handle and had my name carved into it. Needless to say, I loved it. I would go out on the porch with a piece of wood and my little knife, wheedling away until a small sculpture immerged. They were crude and not worth anything but I didn't care. It was never about the sculptures as it was about the knife. And then that same cousin introduced me to throwing.

At first, it was incredibly intimidating. Imagine someone telling you to hurl a sharp, pointy object as hard as you can at a something. This terrified my parents but they kept their mouths shut. So when I finally threw my first knife, heard it whistle through the air, and hit the tree with a satisfying thunk, I was hooked. Not only was the sound of my sharp objects gliding towards the target totally amazing to hear but the fact that I could hit _every single time _was brilliant. And soon, knives weren't enough.

I threw steak knives, pocket knives, anything you could think of but it just wasn't enough. That was when I started archery. Being the newbie on the team, everyone had guaranteed that I wouldn't be able to hit the tree, let alone the center. Which was what I loved about my gift the most: the way everyone's mouthes dropped when the arrow soared in a perfect arch to land with a beautiful _thump _an inch or so away from the heart of the bull's-eye on my first try.

I threw five daggers at the various marks and smiled again.

"I didn't know you were so good."

"Oh my god!" I yelled and spun around to face the voice. Sakura, clearly the voice, stood with her arms crossed tightly over her chest against the cold. "Oh..." I said. "Hi."

"Hi." She took three steps toward me; I counted each of them. "How are you?"

"Better now," I replied. I took one step towards her.

"Now?" she said.

"I was kind of...stressed earlier."

"Really?" She cocked her head to the side. "About what?"

"Um, you," I said awkwardly.

"Why?"

"Because..." I stopped, thinking over my words. "Because you weren't talking to me and you wouldn't let me explain and it made me kind of nervous."

"Oh." We stood in silence, two feet apart, the closest we'd been in those three weeks we'd been away from each other.

Sakura broke first. "I'm so sorry!" she wailed and broke down into gut-wrenching sobs. She'd stumbled the last few steps so that when she fell she landed neatly in my arms. "I never should have just _accused _you of all that. I mean, it wasn't your fault, and I know that, but it was just so much easier to blame you instead of him. I though he was _perfect_, Tenten, _perfect_!" We were sitting now, she kind of in my lap as I cradled her like my mom used to do when I'd come from the playground with bloody knuckles from fighting with the boys. "Albeit, he's a little anti-social but I thought I'd be able to fix that or ignore it or _something_ but I couldn't." She plowed on. "And it wasn't even that he kissed you, Tennie, it wasn't. It was that he decided to tell me when I was so surprised and vulnerable. It just really pissed me off, you know?"

With a final shuddering sigh, she said, "God, Tenten, I was such a moron. Can you forgive me?"

I sat staring at Sakura in her white skirt, orange-y-pink tank-top, and beige-ish cardigan. Her eyes were red and puffy from the crying and - possibly from other crying incidents? - her nose was running like crazy. She noticed me eyeing her and she hastily wiped her nose on her sweater sleeve. "Tenten?" she asked.

"Um, yeah," I said. She stared at me in disbelief.

"'Um, yeah'? Tenten, I was a total bitch to you and all you say is 'um, yeah'? What the hell, Tenten?!"

I snapped to and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I'm was kind of spaced out. I forgive you, Sakura. You never needed to apologize, though. All I wanted was for you to _talk _to me. God, you had me terrified. I thought that you were so mad that you'd never talk to me again. I mean, imagine what would happen to the girls; forced to take sides and all."

Sakura smiled weakly. "I know I was an ass. I was just _really _mad, you know? I freaked and was pissed that he chose you over me - Which was totally stupid, by the way. Honestly, why _wouldn't _he choose you? - because I thought someone _finally _chose me instead of Ino or even Karin. It hurt a lot, you know?" She let out a deep huff. "I'm so sick of being second!"

We sat for some silent moments where we held each other. When I felt like she would be ready I told her, "You know, I happen to think I might know someone who has _never _thought of you as second."

-x-X-x-

After I'd dropped Sakura off at her house, I ran home with a mad adrenaline rush. Once I'd crashed in - my mother looking at me like I'd gone insane - I dashed up to my room, taking the stairs two at a time. I punched in Sasuke's number right away but was so excited I had to try three times before I got it right.

"Sasuke?" I said, not even waiting for him to answer.

"_Yes?_" he said back, slightly irritated as always.

"It's Tenten. I have some fantastic news!" I breathed heavily. My heart was beating fast. Whether from pure happiness or the fact that I'd just ran eight blocks, I didn't know.

"_And that would be...?_" His tone was impatient but I picked up the hint of curiousity in there as well.

"I got you..." Pausing for dramatic effect and trying to catch my breath, I rolled onto my stomach and whispered the last word of my sentence. "_In_."

"'_In_'?" he said. Any hint of curiousity had vanished to be replaced by plain impatience. "_Tenten, what the fuck does that mean_?"

I was exasperated now. He should understand this! If I told Naruto he would totally understand! "'In' as in I got you a date."

One of those through the nostril sighs was my response followed by, "_I don't need help getting a date, Tenten._"

I returned the sigh."I know that! What I'm saying is I got you a date with a certain someone..."

"_Will you just tell who the fuck you're talking about_?" he snapped.

Sighing over-exageratedly, I replied, "For the love of God, _Sakura_, damn it, _Sakura_! I got you a date with Sakura!"

A pause then, "_...What?_"

"You heard me," I said. "You, Sakura, movies this Friday. Actually it doesn't even have to be the movies it just needs to be somewhere with her."

"_I swear to God, Tenten, if you are screwing with me I will kick your ass so hard that you won't be able to walk for a month._"

"I am not joking in any way, shape, or form. It's real. Now, you better phone my little pink friend before she comes to her senses."

The phone line was dead before I finished talking.

**Authoress' Note: Absolutely not as long as I'd have liked it to be but I tried to get more paragraph writing in there instead of just dialouge. I also wanted to get this up as soon as I could so that's why it's not the best. I hope you tried to enjoy this chappie. And here are the thanks!**

**Thanks to Shirotenshi no Kuro, 9meangirl, xxcofeetreexx, blinkeypanda, Toph43, Ulqyfangirl27, IheartItachi-kun, Ashikara-Chan, Lali Weasley-Longbottom, Bitter-Sweet-Ish, rayquaza girl, weaponmistressbunny, and Chirisaa Tomoko, for the fav story/author, story/author alerts, and reviews!**

**And, finally, I dedicate this chapter to rain from the frosted heavens for pushing me to write and for talking to me this past little while!**

**So, lots of cookies and pies and anything else you people would like to eat! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also, if I spelled anyone's name wrong please tell me and I'll fix it in the next chapter.**

**Cheers!**

**KiwiBlossom**


	18. Chapter 17: Mr Butters

Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over

I don't own Naruto or any songs used in this fanfiction.

**Authoress' Note: Enjoy!**

"Ha! I win!" Kasumi cheered and high-fived Kiba then proceeded to do a complicated hand-shake.

"We're number one! We're number one!" They hollered together, dancing around the foosball table. Sasuke frowned and sulked while Naruto demanded a re-match.

"You guys clearly cheated! I want a re-do!"

"Naruto, my friend, when are you ever going to learn how to lose gracefully?" Kiba said, slinging an arm around the blonde's shoulders.

"Yeah, Naruto! Why don't you just admit that we couldn't cheat and that we are just the superior team?" Kasumi added as she collapsed onto the couch.

The gang and I were hanging out in the Hyuuga compound, eating junk food, watching movies, and getting overly competitive about stupid games like foosball and air-hockey. It was the first time I'd been to the Hyuuga's in a while and I reveled in the familiarity of it. I hadn't left the basement, though, in fear of running into Neji and the awkward confrontation that would have to follow it. So I'd stayed in the basement and laughed at Sasuke, his sister, Kiba, and Naruto who seemed, by far, to be the only people who actually kept score of anything.

"Fine. I'll give in to that one, but Sasuke and I aregoing to annihilate you two at ping pong!"

"Naruto, that's a two-player game. How are we supposed to play with four people?" Kasumi said, rolling her eyes.

"We'll switch on and off then!" Naruto cried. "Sasuke and I _will_ be avenged!" He clenched his fist and thumped his chest twice. "Right, Sasuke?"

Sitting on the couch with his new girlfriend (!) on his lap, Sasuke dragged his eyes warily to look at Naruto, thought about his best friend's proclamation and said, "You're on your own."

"Ha!" Kiba cried and slapped Naruto on the back while the latter pouted.

"Whatever. Kiba, you and me, then."

"You are so on."

The two scurried over to the table and began to slam the ping pong ball back and forth with unnecessary force, making various battle cries every time they hit the ball.

We all rolled our eyes at their immaturity and continued to watch _Spiderman. _It was my favourite of the three and I just adored Toby Maguire in all his dorky glory. I was so into the movie that I didn't notice that Hinata had asked me four times if I could go get some more chips; I knew where they were.

"Sure," I said without thinking. It wasn't until I was about half-way to the kitchen did I realize what I'd done.

I stopped in the hallway, lurching forward with the abrupt-ness. What if he saw me? What if he had a break-down and confessed a bunch of things to me? I couldn't handle that. Hell, I could barely even handle catching glimpses of him in the hall at school! _What was I going to do?_

Taking a deep, cleansing breaths, I made a plan. I'd go and get the food like Hinata wanted, and if I ran into Neji then I'd act casual, as if nothing happened. Simple.

I wound my way through the various passages until I made it to the main kitchen. I stood in the center and scanned each cupboard. Now, which one of these held the sacred chips? I started to weed my way through, opening every cupboard and rooting around in it. I was so engrossed in trying to find the chips that I didn't notice Neji was there until he spoke.

"There in the third one from your right." He was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. He was breath-taking.

"Thanks," I said back and pulled out the chips, dumping them into the bowl Hinata had given me. I was about to leave when he said,

"I am sorry, Tenten. I handled this poorly. I didn't want anyone to get hurt."

I tilted my head back to look at him. "I know," I said softly. "But what's done is done. Leave her alone for a while and she'll come around." Then I left.

-x-X-x-

I twisted half of my hair up into a bun, fastened it with a bunch of pins and hair elastics, and did the same on the other side. I straightened my t-shirt. Took a reassuring breath. Let it out.

I was going to meet Neji. Other than our one encounter in the kitchen, we hadn't talked at all. We'd ignored each other and pretended like nothing had happened. And then, completely out-of-the-blue, he'd told me he wanted to talk. I - completely taken off guard - stuttered out a 'yes' and somehow managed to get through the rest of the day.

So here I am, fixing my hair and pulling on a blue t-shirt.

For once, my hair was being unruly and ridiculous. It wouldn't stay up in my signature buns no matter how many pins I'd shove in. With a sigh of finality as the bun on my right tumbled down, I grabbed an old ball-cap and piled my hair up in it. There. It looks like I spent absolutely no time on appearance which should - in Ino's words - translate that I forgot about our appointment and had to throw something together at the last minute. I think.

-x-X-x-

"So," I began, taking a sip of my latte, "what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well," Neji said, placing his hands on his own cup of coffee in a similar manner as I had just. He was mocking me I realized afterwards. "I thought that the last time we saw each other it was very tense. This is my way of making it up to you."

"Buying me a vanilla latte is your way of making it up to me?" I said, eyebrows raised. "That's a bit pathetic."

I watched as he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, it is but I thought this would be a more...relaxed environment than my house."

I mulled this over, sipping my drink every second or so. "Yes," I said, "I suppose you're right. It's not like we're going to have this big blow-out in front of all these people, right?"

"Exactly."

We sat in silence for a moment, sipping our respected drinks carefully. Even with all the noise - the rustling of bags as people munched on scones and cookies, the clinking of cups hitting tables, gasps of outrage as girls heard a juicy piece of gossip - our sipping seemed so loud. So loud, in fact, that I was going over different topics from the bleak and disappointing to the slightly promising in my head just so that we'd have something to talk about.

"So," I started but that was as far as I got because Neji stood up abruptly, muttered a quick "let's go", and yanked me out of my chair and out the door.

"Neji!" I said harshly, my voice a little louder than I'd meant it to be. "What the hell? You can't just pull a girl out of her chair and expect her to follow you! And besides, I wasn't finished my latte." I pouted slightly at the end of my rant and 'hmmph'ed slightly.

I peeked out of the corner of my eyes to see if my rant had worked. Instead of seeing an annoyed Neji like I'd expected, I was greeted with a shocked and wide-eyed expression.

"What?" I said.

"Your hair," he said back, eyes returning to their usual state but his voice still sounded slightly awed.

Instinctively, I reached to grab at my hair to find that instead of being tucked neatly into my baseball cap, it was spilling down past shoulders.

"_Shit,_" I muttered as I craned my neck back and forth, looking for my hat. I finally spotted it skittering down the sidewalk. I scooped it up once I caught it and tried to stuff my hair back in while I walked back to where Neji was standing.

"What?" I said, tucking a few more strands into the baseball cap.

"Why do you always wear your hair like that? It looks..." I watched amusingly as Neji struggled to find the right words. "Nice like that," he finally finished.

"Like what?"

"Down. Out of its buns. Not tucked up in a hat."

I brushed a strand of hair away from my face absently. "Thanks," I mumbled, looking away and blushing. Well, this is awkward. Neji's complimenting me in a strange sort of way and it's a bit creepy. He frowned a bit when saw my face and began to walk away. I stumbled after him.

"Soooo..." I said after some time had passed. "Are you going to tell me why we left in such a rush?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Tenten," he said impatiently. "I don't feel like talking about it."

"Oh please," I replied with an eye-roll. "You _so_ want to talk about it. You just fear it will embarrass you so you're avoiding it."

"I am not," he said stubbornly. This was what I always told him when he wouldn't talk about something. His stupid male ego always got in the way, but by challenging him I could get him to tell me everything.

"Come on..." I prodded.

After a beat of silence he muttered, "Fine. I saw Ino."

This was not what I was expecting. "Pardon?"

"Ino. The Yamanaka girl you always hang out with. She was in Starbucks."

"_Holy shit_," I murmured. "That would've been hell if she'd seen us. Thank god you saw her."

"Yeah."

We walked quietly. I focused on the sounds of our footsteps, almost in unison, mine slightly behind his seeing as I was shorter. Huh. I'd never really noticed how much taller Neji was than me. We'd be perfect kissing height... No! Bad Tenten! Do not think about kissing Neji! It doesn't matter that he is now a free man and officially on the market. He broke up with your best friend for Christ's sake. Get a grip.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Which was why I (accidentally) blurted, "Neji, what do you think would happen if we went out?"

He processed this. "We already do go out, Tenten. No one seemed bothered about it before. Now, it's a bit more difficult, but it would be fine after some time."

"What do you mean?" I said. "We don't 'go out'."

I registered that he stifled a very Kasumi-esque eye-roll. "What do you call what we just did?"

"Okay, this totally doesn't count," I told him. "We're hanging out. _Completely_, different from going out."

"What do you mean?" he said, imitating me. "I don't see the difference."

"You know, hanging is just two friends getting a drink at Starbucks." I nudged him playfully when I said this. "Going out is, like, when a girl and a guy who have feelings for each other get a bite to eat or go to a movie or something."

"How is that different from what we do? We've seen movies together, gone out to eat lunch."

Trying very hard to not let out a frustrated sigh, I re-adjusted my hat. "Neji, eating lunch at a burger joint - no matter how hard it was to actually get you to go there - is nowhere near the same as dinner at a fancy-shmancy restaurant."

"I don't really see the difference."

"Good god, how did you ever get a girlfriend?" I muttered. Neji glared at me.

"Why are you asking any way?" he said, slightly flustered (Though he'd never admit it...).

"Just wondering!" I said quickly, my voice a bit shrill.

"Hn."

I rolled my eyes at his predictability. We continued along the path to my house, about to part ways at the fork in the road that took him to his cottage (He hates it when I call it that. Says it takes away the masculinity of it. _Whatever_, Neji.) when he said,

"I don't think anyone would care if we were to go on a date, Tenten. Your friends would get over it. And if they didn't, they aren't really friends, are they?" With that, he squeezed my shoulder gently and took off leisurely down the path.

-x-X-x-

So basically, I'm confused. What on _earth_ does Neji mean? Is he saying he wants to go on a date some time or is he saying that my friends suck if they never forgave me for going out with him (Which, honestly, I wouldn't blame them for.)? Seriously, he needs to stop being so freaking cryptic.

The girls and I were, once more, in Wal-Mart weighing the pros and cons of licorice. Oh, and apparently now we're debating which is better: Nibs or Twizzlers.

"But nibs are moister! Twizzlers get old and stiff and...gross," Ino argued.

"True, but nibs are way smaller so you'll eat more. Then, afterwards, you feel fat," Sakura argued back.

"Oh..." Ino said, "I didn't think about it that way." She dumped a bag of twizzlers into our basket.

"Okay, can someone please explain to me how we, five very attractive young girls, end up alone on a Friday night in a Wal-Mart _again_," Kasumi said as she scanned a tube of pringles before putting it back on the shelf. "I mean, shouldn't we be doing something more exciting?"

Sakura, Ino, and I - the first two with their mouths stuffed with a chips - looked peculiarly at Kasumi.

"Are you suggesting," Ino said after she swallowed her mouthful, "That you want us to actually go out and, oh, I don't know, get dates?"

"No! I just thought that we should do something other than vegetate on Hinata's couch," she explained diplomatically.

"Uh, no thanks," Sakura said, waving her hand dismissively. "I'd really rather not go get groped by some random guy."

Murmurs of agreement were heard.

"Aaand," I said after everyone was quiet, "You already have a certain someone to spend time with, right?"

Sakura fidgeted slightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, pish-posh!" cried Ino. "We all know something's up, we just don't know with whom. So dish, girl!"

Sakura fiddled with her fingers, examining the lights overhead. She glanced back and forth - never quite making complete eye contact. "Well, uh," she murmured. "It's like, um..."

We all were quiet as Sakura figured out how to talk about this. We knew-ish about her and Sasuke (Hello, the scene in the Hyuuga house?), but we were not certain about what exactly was going on. I, of course, knew a lot more than the rest of the girls did, but Sasuke was being very secretive about everything and wouldn't tell me squat.

"It's just...wonderful." Sakura finally said and sighed one of those "love" sighs. "It's the perfect relationship. Everything is..."

"Wonderful?" Kasumi suggested sarcastically.

"Exactly." Another love sigh.

"Oh, good lord, I'm sorry you asked," Kasumi muttered to me as I muffled a giggle.

"You can't blame her," I said back. "She's in love."

"Love, shmove," she said with a perfected eye-roll.

This time I laughed loudly and pushed our group towards the tills.

-x-X-x-

"Ha!" I yelled in triumph, punching a fist in the air. "I win, I win!"

"How does standing in the middle of a cat shelter prove you are more likeable than me?" Neji said, and I could hear the frustration in his voice.

"Because," I explained, petting an orange tabby that was winding its way between my legs, "it shows that more kitties flocked to me than you." I smiled smugly and then added, "Beside, you only got one and it isn't even a _good_ cat."

"A good one?" he replied skeptically as he tried to peel said cat off his own leg.

"Yeah. You got grumpy ol' Mr. Butters. No one likes him."

"Well," Neji said, a slight haughty tone to his voice, "I think I will adopt him."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Yes."

I smirked, said, "this way", and lead him to the counter.

-x-X-x-

Fucking cat.

Why did he have to get so competitive with Tenten? Now he was stuck with this stupid, stupid cat. This stupid, hungry, needy, annoying cat.

Neji strode down one of the many hallways in the Hyuuga manor, trying to get away from the alleged cat. What the hell was up with it? It never left him fucking alone. Followed him everywhere, got hair all over his belongings, god, how he hated it. Stupid fucking cat.

He strode irritably into the kitchen and ripped open a cupboard and picked a cup out of it. He did the same to another and took out a tea bag. Flipping the button on the kettle to get the water to boil, Neji heard a sound. A small, pathetic sound that he'd recognize anywhere. He whirled around to come face to face with Mr. Butters. His eyes widened slightly as he staggered backwards to reveal someone else besides Mr. Butters was in the room.

Hanabi smiled up at her older cousin. "Isn't he adorable?" she cooed as she drew the cat back into her arms. "I wonder where he came from…"

"I adopted him," Neji said stiffly. Just what he needed; his youngest cousin getting attached to it. How was he supposed take it back now?

"Really?" she replied, head tilted to the left. "I didn't know you were a cat person."

"I'm not," he snapped. "You can have it."

Hanabi gasped. "'It!? How could you call him 'it'? He's much too cute to not be appreciated. What's his name?"

"Mr. Butters," he muttered.

"Mr. Butters! How cute!" Hanabi squealed as she gave a tight squeeze to the cat. "Well, we're going to have to get you cleaned. Honestly, you are filthy."

And with that, Hanabi skipped out of the kitchen with Mr. Butters looking mournfully back at Neji.

-x-X-x-

I frowned disapprovingly as I watched Ino rip a pair of red leather boots from another woman's hands.

"They're mine, bitch!" she hissed, a venomous look in her eyes. The woman backed off immediately.

"Ino, is it really right to take advantage of Black Friday like this?" I asked apprehensively. "I mean, this feels morally wrong."

Ino rolled her eyes at me. "There is nothing wrong with embracing your African roots."

"African roots?" Kasumi popped in, holding a black t-shirt with a kitten on it peacing out. "Ino, you are a platinum blonde, pale as they come girl of Japanese descent. What African roots do you have?"

"Hey, you are taking advantage of this just as much as I am," she pointed out.

Kasumi nodded. "True, true, but I – at least – acknowledge the fact that I'm being incredibly shallow where as you find excuses."

Ino sighed, mumbled a "Whatever" and took off in a different direction.

"Forget a party; we should just set her loose in here for her birthday," Sakura said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"I suppose that would be way better than anything we could ever get her," Hinata mused. I opened my mouth to agree when I was interrupted.

"Get off of them you whore, it's mine!" We heard Ino screech.

"Oh, boy," I murmured. We turned the corner to see Ino and a red-head playing a very violent game of tug-of-war. They screamed various insults at each other and ripped at each other's hair as they jerked a leather purple purse back and forth.

"You bitch!" the red-head shrieked. "I had my hands on it first, I get to take it home!"

"Oh, like every other thing you touch wants to go home with you?" Ino shot back.

The red-head gasped and gave particularly vicious tug. "Like you're one to talk," she growled.

Looking severely pissed off, Ino gave a harsh tug and sent the other girl sailing into a pile of discarded clothes. "I believe I've won this battle," she said triumphantly. "Now go on home to your little whore house."

The girl glared at her, but stood, rearranged her skirt (if you could call it that), and left with her nose in the air.

I glanced hesitantly at the other girls.

"On second thought, maybe a party is a better idea," Sakura said sheepishly.

**Authoress' Note: It's so incredibly rushed, it's bad. And the sad thing is that it's been such a long time since I've updated. So, sorry for the crappy-ness.**

**Just a little thing I want to bring to you attention is the lack of reviews for the last chapter. I know that I totally shouldn't be bagging on you guys for this, but all I'm asking is for a 'good job' or something along those lines. Just a few words will give me more motivation to actually sit down and write. Thank-you for those of you who did review; I really appreciate it. Those of you who didn't, I'd love it if you did this chapter!**

**In other news, I've written another Christmas one-shot. It's InoxKiba so I'm not sure any of my readers would be interested, but go check it out and maybe leave a review ;). Also, I wrote a NejixTen Christmas one-shot last year so if you haven't read that one, check it out, too. **

**Hope you didn't cringe too much when reading this and merry belated-Christmas and Happy New Year! By the way, if you review, tell me what the best present you've ever received is :).**

**KiwiBlossom **


	19. 18: You're My Best Guy Friend!

Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over

I don't own Naruto or any songs used in this fanfiction.

**Authoress' Note: To start off, I am partly dedicating this chapter to ForeverFighter for reviewing every chapter in one go, even my new Christmas one-shot. Thank-you very much! I appreciate the time and care you put into writing me some length-y reviews. They were fantastic and motivated me to get writing!**

**The other person I am dedicating this chapter to is luv4labs for being the very first person to review the last chapter, and I also say thanks for the fact that you think that I'm so funny. I don't particularly see it, but I'm glad you're amused ;).**

**That's all! Cheers and enjoy!**

I stared at Kankurou blankly with my head tilted to the left slightly. What had just happened? There was no way that what I thought happened, actually happened. Right?

"Ha, uh, sorry, Kankurou, but _what _did you just say?" I said with a trill of nervous laughter.

He gave me a small, unsure smile and said – quite clearly, "Do you want to go out with me tomorrow?"

My mouth opened and closed repeatedly as I tried to process the question. Kankurou? And me? _On a date_? I prepared myself to say something, but made the mistake of looking into his eyes. They were so big and full of hope.

"I'd love to," I mumbled shamefully.

He burst into a grin. "Awesome! Meet you afterschool by Old Oakey?" he asked happily, bouncing like a kid about to buy his favourite toy.

I nodded weakly as I watched him skip down the hallway. Oh, lord. What have I done? I've actually agreed to go on a date with my best guy friend. What was I thinking? I walked out of the school in a slight daze, heading in the vague direction of my house.

"Hey," Sakura said as she trotted up to me. "What's going on?"

"Why do you think there's something going on? Nothing's going on!" I said quickly, noticing that my voice was incredibly shrill. I really need to work on my lying skills. And to think I'd gotten so good back when Neji and Sakura were going out. Where did my new-found talent go to?!

"Uh, okay?" Sakura peered at me out of the corner of her eyes. "Paranoid much?"

I scoffed unconvincingly. "Psh, what makes you think I'm paranoid? I'm fine, totally fine!" Damn. Stupid voice, so bloody shrill…

"Tenten," the pinkette said, turning to face me while gripping my shoulders in her pale hands. "I know when something is wrong with you. So what the hell is up?"

I inhaled sharply for a moment, not letting it out. When Sakura started to look worried about how I wasn't breathing, I let the inhale out in a big whoosh. "I've done a terrible thing," I said.

"Don't tell me you went and made-out with Sasuke before we started going out, too," she said jokingly.

My eyes widened. "Okay, not even funny. There is no way you can kid around like that with this."

"Sorry," she muttered humbly. "Go on?"

"I think I just said yes to a date with Kankurou."

"Oh, my."

"Yeah."

"We need assistance," she said firmly while taking out her cell. "Come on we'll meet them at your house."

"Meet who?"

"You'll see."

-x-X-x-

I was severely confused. Honestly, I had no clue what was going on. The girls and I had been sitting in my room for two hours and we still hadn't got anywhere. I glanced hesitantly at Kasumi and Hinata. They looked equally as confused as me. Oh, boy.

"Well, maybe he likes her," Sakura pointed out. "I mean, don't get me wrong, Tenten's totally smokin'" – I blushed here – "But maybe he likes her for her personality. He is Kankurou after all."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Pish-posh, there's no way that's-" Her eyes widened in a just-got-an-idea way. "You know what? I think that might be it." Ino faced me. "Tenten, I think he likes you."

I frowned. "Uh, no offense, Ino, but yeah, I know. Why else would he have asked me out?"

"Is that what we've been talking about the last couple hours?" Kasumi interjected. "Are you serious? Oh, good god, you have just wasted two hours of my life."

Again, Ino rolled her eyes. "Calm down, Kasumi. Now, the real fun begins."

We all glanced nervously at each other. The real fun? The horror.

"Ino, maybe I should just figure this out by myself," I suggested gently. "I mean, maybe I'll be better off just thinking to myself."

Ino looked appalled. "Never! We have to work together."

"Yes, I understand that, but I think that I can figure this out myself and-"

"H-how about," Hinata interrupted with a small, forced smile, "Tenten goes on her date, and then when it's over we all come back to my house to discuss it. That way, we know what we're getting ourselves into and can decide how to move forward without causing anyone emotional pain."

The girls all tilted their heads to look at Ino who looked like she was considering Hinata's idea. Finally she nodded slowly. "Yes, I think that's best."

We all smiled in relief. Thank god. Upon deciding this, the girls departed, and left me with overly loud thoughts. So. Kankurou. Lord, how was I going to pull this one off? I definitely don't want to hurt him, but I really don't want to be his girlfriend. I can imagine it now: us, sitting at a table five years from now eating the same dinner we eat every Thursday night while picking at it pathetically as we struggle to make conversation.

….

There is no way in _hell_ I'm going to let that happen.

-x-X-x-

Okay, so that wasn't _totally_ wretched like I predicted it would be. In fact, it was kind of – dare I say – fun. We just went to Starbucks (my pick), ordered some drinks, and talked for an hour and a half or so. It was the perfect environment with no pressure to look couple-y or loving, and it made the date seem more just like friends hanging out. Which was why I'd accidentally said yes to a second date.

But you can't blame me! He caught me at my weakest point: with a cup of sweet java in my second home. Henceforth, when I had gotten home, I'd immediately called the girls for a meeting.

_Bring!_ The door bell trilled. Must be them. I dragged myself downstairs in a haze and opened the door to see Sakura and Ino standing with their arms linked.

"Are you going to let us in or what?" Ino said with a teasing smile. I grinned back and opened the door wider for the two girls to enter.

"Are Kasumi and Hina coming?" Sakura asked while she took her coat off and hung it in the front room closet. I nodded just as the doorbell rang again. We looked at each other. "Perfect timing," Sakura muttered as I pulled the door open again. Hinata and Kasumi greeted us while the latter handed me a plate of cookies.

I crinkled my brow as I stared at the plate of sweets. "Cookies?"

"For your troubles," Kasumi explained. Of course.

"Thanks," I said with a smile, gesturing towards my room. "Shall we?"

They nodded. "We shall."

-x-X-x-

"_You what!?_" The girls yelled in unison.

"I said yes?" I repeated weakly.

"Tenten!" Sakura said, clearly exasperated. "You are supposed to go on _one_ date, no more than that. You are totally going to leave the wrong impression now! He's going to think you actually like him, not that you want to be friends."

"Lord, even I knew that," Kasumi put in. "What were you thinking?"

"I-I…" Gazing at everyone in confusion, I floundered about for words. "I wasn't!" I finally cried.

"'Pardon?"

"He caught me off guard," I said, slightly panicky. "We were just so relaxed and I was comfortable with him – you know, in a friend way – and he just asked me randomly. I kind of blabbed out 'yes' before my brain even processed it."

There was total silence for several moments until Kasumi murmured, "He's a sneaky little bugger, isn't he?"

Ino rubbed her hands together. "Okay, now _this _is what I'm good at. We simply must find a way to make Tenten seem unappealing to Kankurou."

"Oh, is that all?" Kasumi said sarcastically.

"Kasumi," Hinata chastised.

"Sorry."

Rolling her eyes, Ino said, "It's easy. We just have to make Tenten, here, the complete opposite of what Kankurou wants." She leaned forward to face me. "So, tell us: what is it that Kankurou likes so much about you?"

I stuttered for a moment. "I, uh, don't know?" I finally came up with.

"Now is not the time to be humble, Tennie!" Sakura cried. "We need you to be overly confident right this second."

"I have to agree," Hinata said. "We need you to be…"

"Cocky?" Kasumi suggested.

Hinata smiled. "Exactly. We need you to be cocky as hell."

"Oooh," Sakura said. "Hina swore, it's serious now."

I giggled (very un-Tenten like, I know) and sighed, releasing all the tension in my shoulders. "Okay. Let's see, he likes me because I don't squeal like a fangirl at every hot guy I see." The girls nodded as Ino scribbled something down on a notepad. "Um, I dress modestly; I like sports, uh…" I shrugged helplessly. "That's it?"

Ino nodded thoughtfully while jotting down the final notes. "So, in summary, he likes you because you're a tomboy."

Huh, that was way easier than my rant. "Er, yeah, I guess."

Slamming her note book shut, Ino flipped her hair over her shoulder with a scoff. "This is going to be super easy! All we have to do is make you into a…"

"Ino?" Sakura said with an amused smirk.

"Yeah! An Ino. Easy-peasy."

"Uh," I craned my head to the side. "What about me? Don't I have a say in this?"

Ino turned to face me, hands on her hips. "Do you want to get rid of Kankurou or not?"

Swallowing, I looked back and forth between all the girls. Oh, boy.

-x-X-x-

Yanking down my entirely too short skirt, I glared at my reflection. Stupid Ino and her stupid plan. What possessed her to think that I could pull this off? I don't like any of this. Not the short skirt or the tight – and not to mention revealing – top. Or worst of all, these god forsaken high heels. Do people honestly walk in these?

Oh, and since when did these plans go off properly? I mean, usually something goes horribly wrong. Ha, forget usually, _always _is a better word. I let out a rush of breath and pulled a hand through my "expertly" curled hair. Did I mention that I'm not allowed to wear my hair in buns? Yeah, it's too "butch". Freaking Ino…

I let out another deep breath, preparing myself for Kankurou's reaction. I'd told him to come pick me up and to dress nicely – whatever that means. After that I'd spent the next five hours getting ready for the date. Ino had some-how managed to lug her entire wardrobe to my house in various bags so that I could have my pick of clothes. Not that it mattered; the moment I even tried to suggest what I'd like to wear, the blonde had swooped in and tutted away until I gave up. So here I was, completely uncomfortable in what I was wearing and feeling like I had another face due to how much make-up was painted on my face.

I vaguely heard the doorbell ring in the background. My stomach plummeted. Oh, god, this cannot go well. I directed myself down the stairs from my room to the front door and opened it, expecting to see Sakura and others attempting to lint away any foreign substances that may have stuck to my clothes in the last five minutes. Instead, I was greeted with a very bewildered looking Kankurou.

"Oh!" I said when I saw him. "I wasn't expecting you-"

Kankurou smiled nervously at me. He was tapping his foot like mad while the bouquet of flowers he had quivered as if they were anxious to see who they were destined for. After a bit he said, "Look, I'd really like to stay and talk, but I've got a date with your sister."

Sister? What? Laughing uncertainly, I tilted my head just like Ino taught me. "Uh, sorry, but sister? I don't have a sister."

Kankurou's eyes widened then narrowed suspiciously. "Tenten? Is that really you?"

Oh, god. He's on to me. What do I do? Okay, Tenten, stay calm. Just play along and maybe he won't be so apprehensive. I laughed forcefully and said jokingly, "Well, duh. Who else would I be?"

Still seeming unsure, he handed the flowers to me. "In that case, here; I bought these for you."

I took the flowers delicately and inhaled the scent deeply. I felt a small pang of doubt while I put them in a vase of water. This is not a good idea. I mean, what if he figures it out? Then not only would I hurt Kankurou's feelings, he'd probably never speak to me again. And, honestly, I like having a guy friend. They're great listeners and they give you a dude's point of view on any boy problems you might have. On top of all that, they're hilarious and just _know_ how to make you laugh.

Gulping as I turned to go on my date, I straightened my shirt. I can't lose him. I just can't.

-x-X-x-

"_I knew this was a bad idea from the beginning_," Kasumi's voice said harshly into my ear. "_Why in hell did you agree to this?_"

"Because I was blinded by determination to remain friends!" I whispered back sharply. In case you were wondering, I was currently in the bathroom of 'The Golden Buddha', a Chinese restaurant that my mom and I had ordered in from a few times. Unfortunately, tonight it was the chosen location for my date. "What do I do? This date is a complete failure."

"_Isn't that the point?_" Kasumi told me.

I stuttered, "Well, I mean, yeah, but I've never not been able to talk to Kankurou before. It's like all I can think about is how this could end badly so I've lost the ability to carry a conversation."

"_Tenten, this is what you wanted, remember? Just go with the flow and hopefully everything will work out,_" she said and then hung up, leaving me alone with my psychotic thoughts. I inhaled once, twice, gave myself a brief mental pep-talk, and stumbled out the door.

I sat down across from my date as he moved his food around his plate.

"So…" he said after several beats of awkward silence. "Tenten, I think we need to talk about the, uh, changes you've made–"

"Tenten?"

My eyes widened to be about the size of dinner plates as I turned slowly, horrified that the voice I'd heard was the one I thought it was. My thoughts were confirmed when I saw the tall, lean figure of Neji Hyuuga standing with an eyebrow cocked curiously. Oh, god.

"Tenten?" he repeated. "Is that you?"

One hand instantly flying up to straighten my ball cap that wasn't there, I tried hastily with the other to rearrange my skirt so that it seemed longer than it really was. Shit, shit, shit! See _this _is why this is a ridiculous plan. Things always go wrong!

"Hey, Neji!" I said tightly with a forced smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kankurou flinch. "What are you doing here?"

He opened his mouth to say something when Hinata and Hanabi stepped out from behind him. Eyes huge, Hinata looked extremely remorseful. 'I'm sorry' she mouthed to me as she pursed her lips. Hanabi on the other hand was completely oblivious, and she greeted me with a perky hello.

"Hey, Hanabi," I said back weakly. This is just great. The only thing I could think that could possibly make this worse is if Mr. Hyuuga showed up.

"Neji? Hinata?" Oh, I was wrong; that could only make it worse. Sakura and Sasuke rounded the corner to see, at first, the Hyuuga party, and then – as they come closer – they saw us. Sakura's emerald eyes widened in surprise and then recognition shortly after when she suddenly remembered where Kankurou and I were supposed to go for dinner.

Hanabi, still blissfully unaware of how uncomfortable and confused we all were, continued over towards our table and plopped herself down next to me. "I cannot believe you convinced Neji to get Mr. Butters. He is so so cute!"

I smiled pathetically. "Uh, yeah, sure. You're welcome." As much as I adored Hanabi, I really didn't have time right now. I mean, I was dressed rather scantily and my crush was here. Oh, and I had to some-how manage to avert Neji's eyes from my ample cleavage while making sure I didn't take away from my date with Kankurou.

Speaking of which, Kankurou leaned forward to mutter lowly, "Tenten, I really think we need to talk."

I waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, one minute." He frowned as I grabbed Hinata and Sakura and dragged them into an alcove near the bathrooms.

"What the hell do I do?" I hissed. "This is bad! Very very bad!"

"I know, I know!" Sakura replied quickly. "I am so sorry, Tenten, I completely forgot you were coming here. God, this must be so embarrassing."

Hinata nodded solemnly in agreement. "I swear I had no idea that you two were going to be here. If I knew I never would have came."

"No, it's okay; I'm just a bit freaked. I don't think this fake date is working."

"What?" Sakura said. "But I thought you said this would work!"

"No, _Ino _said that this would work. I had no faith."

As we started to bicker like school girls, Hinata cleared her throat as loudly as she could and said politely, "Maybe you should just tell Kankurou that you only want to be friends."

That shut us up. "Er, well, yes, I suppose that would work," Sakura mumbled. I nodded. We should really start listening to Hina more often…

I took a deep breath to psych myself up for the heart-to-heart that was about to go down. Okay, let's do this!

Leaving my two best friends gawking in the alcove, I walked shakily to our table. I stood patiently in front of it, waiting for the conversation to die down. My nerves were a mess, and I couldn't stop my knees from shaking. Whether it was from the butterflies in my stomach or my inability to walk in these stilettos I wasn't sure.

"Hey, Kankurou?" I said once he, Neji, and Sasuke stopped talking. He turned to face me with a surprised look on his face, as if he had forgotten I was there. Oh, boy.

"Yeah?" he said back, one eyebrow raised.

"You said you wanted to talk? Uh, you want to do that now?"

When I said that, an odd thing happened. Kankurou's face contorted into something cruel and unusual; something I'd never seen before. He was angry with me, I realized, and he snapped, "Oh, to what do I owe the honour? Finally decided that you wanted to talk? Maybe right now I'm busy, Tenten. Maybe right now I just can't talk."

I'd always said I was a tough cookie; that I don't cry easily. All this was completely, true, of course, because I hated crying – thought it was a sign of weakness, actually. But when Kankurou said all that stuff to me, I almost burst into tears right on the spot. Getting yelled at by my parents was something I'd grown accustomed to – as do most kids, I imagine – because I knew that they would always love me. But I absolutely hated getting a verbal beating from a friend.

My lip admittedly did quiver for a moment, but I regained my composure and said quietly, "Um, okay, then. Whenever you have time to talk, I'll just be with the girls." Then, I shuffled off towards the bathrooms where, low and behold, Sakura and Hinata were still standing and gawking.

Before I got there, though, I heard Kankurou sigh loudly and – shortly afterwards – his footsteps coming after me. "Tenten," he started, reaching out and grabbing my shoulder, "I'm sorry."

I turned to face him with my lips pursed. I will not cry, I will not cry. "It's okay. I'm sorry, too."

"What?" he said. "Tenten, I freaked out at you, not the other way around. You have no reason to be sorry–"

"No, Kankurou, you don't get it. I'm not sorry for, uh, interrupting what I'm sure was a thrilling conversation but for something way way way worse."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about, Tenten?"

"Please, just don't talk right now, okay? I need to tell you something."

-x-X-x-

Kankurou was silent.

"Look, I'm really sorry, Kankurou. You have no idea how awful I feel. I just…I just really didn't want to hurt your feelings. I mean, you were just so hopeful and happy and I just didn't…I didn't know what to do. I couldn't turn you down."

He nodded. Well, it's some movement. I started to say something, but then I realized that there was nothing more _to _say. I had explained everything that I could, and there was nothing more I could do. I would just have to sit back and wait to hear his verdict. Whether or not we were going to stay friends was completely up to him.

"I don't know what to say," he said after some time. I nodded.

"I understand."

He ran a hand through his hair while sighing loudly. "God, I feel like such a moron."

What? No! Don't be all pitiful and stuff. This is supposed to my fault! "Kankurou, you have no reason to feel stupid. I have probably done the dumbest thing know to mankind. I mean, how many times do we watch this happen in TV? Yet, I thought that maybe it would work this time. Of course, it wouldn't, but I just thought…"

"I get it, Tenten. You didn't want to hurt me. But you could have just _told _me. I would have understood."

"I know," I said softly. "And that's the worst part. I know I could have just said no, but when I saw your face it was so much harder than I thought it would be."

This time he nodded. He was still silent, though. Good god, please say something, this is killing me. He stood abruptly and looked down at me. He paused, seemingly confused.

"I'm kind of…er, mixed up right now," he said. "I don't think we should see each other for a bit."

I interjected, "But I –"

He held up his palm to stop me. "Please, Tennie," – I smiled at the knick-name. So he wasn't totally mad at me! – "Just give me some time. I need some space."

Slightly crest-fallen, I agreed. Maybe he was right; he does need time. I can survive without a guy best friend for a while. I did it before, right? Oh, wait. There's Naruto and Lee. I forgot about them. Hm, maybe I can't do this. No! I can. I will be absolutely fine. I think.

-x-X-x-

I watched silently as Kankurou left before phoning my mom to come pick me up. Admittedly, I felt pretty pathetic when she rolled up her in sensible car, and then quite childish when she openly started chastising me for how ridiculous I was dressed. I just took it all in, not even paying attention.

"_Yell at me all you want, mom. It's not going to change anything." _I thought blandly on the way home.

"Honestly, Tenten, what were you thinking? Since when did you start dressing like this?" my mom chattered. "It's like I don't even know who you are any more."

I sighed while pressing my forehead against the cool window. My face was unusually warm. Maybe I'm getting sick, I wondered vaguely.

"Tenten?" my mother asked, "Are you even listening to me?"

Closing my eyes softly to block out her voice, I murmured, "Mom, I really don't want to talk right now. Could you just, oh, I don't know, stop talking?"

I'm sure she was going to start hollering at me – Hell, maybe she even started – but I didn't really hear the rest. I was asleep long before she even began.

**Authoress' Note: So that was basically not what I expected to happen in this chapter. Usually when I write there is at least some plot to what's going on in my head, but in this one I just let the words, er, flow I suppose. Not my best but it is quite long. That makes up for it a wee bit. I guess.**

**In other news, on Thursday, January 21, 2010 (Happy very belated New Year, by the way!) it will be birthday! I'm quite excited – ridiculously so, now that I think about it – and just thought in honour (ish) of my b-day I would play a little game. When you drop a review (because you know you want to) simply put how old you think I am now or how old you think I am turning. Not necessary, but just a little thing I'd like to see. I've always really wondered how old I appear to the internet world :P.**

**Thanks for reading and review, review, review!**

**KiwiBlossom**


	20. Chapter 19: Sink or Swim?

Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over

I do not own Naruto or any songs used in this fanfiction.

**Authoress' Note: Unfortunately, again, reviews were far and few between. It always seems to fluctuate like that. Weird, huh? But, I do know that the last chapter was very ho-hum-pig's-bum, and I don't blame you for not wanting to review. To all those who did review, thank you :D! They were all quite length-y and much appreciated. **

**As far as this chapter goes, I'm thinking it will be another filler-type thing. The story is wrapping up soon, so I need to finish all the little side-couple ish things. If it's not that great, sorry. I had (er...have) a touch of writer's block. **

**Anyway, cheers and enjoy!**

So here I am, sitting here, waiting for the phone to ring. Again. Ugh. I now finally understand why girls complain about waiting for a guy to phone; It's agonizing.

We hadn't had any sort of communication in about a week. Not really long when you think about it, but for me, I was about to have a nervous breakdown. He's my best dude friend. It's weird not talking to him. I mean, Kankurou pretty much makes my day. He's always all smiles and junk which is so infectious. It's hard not to love Kankurou.

I guess, in a way, I've replaced him. Temporarily, of course. Basically, I've been hanging out with Naruto and Lee a lot. They're nice and all, but they aren't as deep as Kankurou. But they do have that happy air about them which is definitely what I need right now.

The girls are so repentant it's ridiculous. They pretty much won't stop apologizing. I swear, Ino's phoned me almost every day to tell me that what she did was totally moronic and that she's so so so so sorry. Jesus, woman, leave me alone! I have enough problems as it is.

Speaking of which, Neji has started avoiding me like the black plague. Ever since he saw me dress, er, rather scantily, he refuses to look at me. Kasumi's theory is that he's afraid I'll bust out of my jeans and t-shirt into some hooker outfit and start dancing around. I almost beat her with my baseball bat when she told me.

Hinata was, as always, the most practical of the group and told me that he was probably just surprised by my outfit and needs time for his brain to process what is most likely seared into his retinas. (Okay, she didn't say the last part about his retinas, but it was implied.)

_Bring!_ The phone rang! I lunged for it before my mom was even half way out of her chair.

"Hello?" I said anxiously.

"_Hey._" Oh, my god! He called! Success!

"Hey," I said back nonchalantly. What? I don't want to seem too eager.

"_Hey_." Silence. How long is this going to go on for?

"So, what did you want?" I asked after a few moments.

"_Oh, um, right. I wanted to let you know that I thought about the thing that happened that night-_" Oh, joy, the date's being referred to as 'the thing' now. I'm never going to live this down. "_and I think I'm ready to talk._"

Took you long enough, buddy, I thought, but said, "Cool. Do you want to meet at Starbucks?"

"_I think we've proven that Starbucks isn't the best place for you to discuss things, Tennie_."

I rolled my eyes. He was right, of course. I don't really focus well when I'm in there. The aroma is just to...soothing. "Fine. How about the skate park then?"

"_Sounds good._"

"See you there in five?"

"_Okay. See you._"

We hung up at the same time. I bounced up to my room to get my cell and then shot out the door to meet Kankurou. Oooooh, this is so exciting! He wants to talk. I swear, it's a bloody miracle.

As I skipped down the street to the skate park, I went over the plan I'd made a few days ago if Kankurou ever spoke to me again. If he was going to start talking first, I would just nod my head and actually listen. If he _didn't _start first, then I would apologize profusely – not that I hadn't been doing that already – and hope to god that the words would just come spilling out of his mouth. Hopefully.

When I arrived at the park, Kankurou wasn't there yet. Naruto, on the other hand, was. He wasn't skating, instead talking to a pretty girl with dark hair and pale eyes. She lifted her hand to cover her mouth when she laughed, a shy smile still visible on her face afterward. Naruto continued with his story, gesturing elaborately. I assumed he had started with just his arms, but it had escalated to the point where his whole body was into it. The girl laughed again while leaning backwards discreetly to dodge one of Naruto's flying hands.

As I got closer to them, I began to see the girl's features more clearly. She really was quite stunning. In fact, she was so pretty, I wondered for a second how Naruto had managed to get her attention. She was quite curvy, but hid it well due to her large sweater. When she smiled, her cheeks dimpled cutely, making her look young and innocent. With all of those things combined, she seemed so familiar it was creepy. And, upon walking even closer, I finally realized who she was.

Hinata Hyuuga was very good at pretending. Technically, it was lying, but it didn't really matter all that much because, unfortunately, Hinata couldn't actually _lie_ to anyone. When she was being nice to someone she didn't like – such as Karin – it was easy. When she had to flat out lie, she had a full scale panic attack. So I wasn't all that surprised that when I had finally met up with them at the half-pipe that she immediately got flustered and started touching her fingers together like crazy.

"Hey, Naruto," I said with the smallest of smirks peaking out. "Hey, Hinata."

"Hey, Tenten!" Naruto replied brightly, completely clueless as to how uncomfortable Hinata was. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm meeting someone." I rocked back and forth and smiled slowly. "So, what are you two doing here. Together. Alone. Talking." I winked at Hinata. She looked away instantly.

"I was just telling Hina about how Lee tried that handcuffing trick on Sasuke last night."

I grinned. Lee, having clearly not learned his lesson from the Kasumi-Gaara incident, had sworn vehemently that he had figured out what went wrong last time and that he could do the trick flawlessly now. Of course, no one really cared but he proceeded to clasp those handcuffs on Sasuke's wrist with a _click!_ But before he could even find another "volunteer" to take part in his magicking, Sasuke had took off in search of his sister – who had been caught in a slightly heated kissing session with her official boyfriend (!!) – and she had picked the lock on the handcuffs. Then, typically, Sasuke had gone off to beat the crap out of the magician.

"Oh, yeah. How'd that go?" I asked while glancing carefully at Hinata. She was still squirming helplessly.

Naruto shrugged. "It didn't really 'go.' It was more like the bastard threatened Lee, beat him to within an inch of his life, and then, you know, left him to bleed to his possible death."

I looked at him. "True story," he said with a nod while Hinata and I stifled a bout of laughter.

"Someone did help him, right?" I said after a moment of thought.

"Oh, yeah. Totally," he said, but something in his voice made me unsure. I'd have to make sure to go see Lee later.

"Hey." I twirled around to see Kankurou loping towards us, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans.

"Hey, man," Naruto said once he had gotten to us and did that weird guy-hug-thing where they clasp hands and chest bump each other. "Good to see you out and about. Where the hell have you been?"

Kankurou blushed and didn't meet my eyes. "Uh, I've been doing some me time."

"Whoa!" Naruto held up his hands. "Say no more, dude. I don't need to know what 'me time' is to you. Made that mistake one too many times."

This time I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as well as Kankurou's. "Not what I meant..." he muttered. "So," he said to me, "let's go talk."

"Right. Talk. Let's." I said everything quickly and when I started walking all my movements were weird and jerky. Great.

"So, what's up?" I said once we were seated under a large maple tree, the shade providing some much appreciated privacy.

"Uh, well..."

I let my eyes drift away from him, hoping that would take some of the tension away. I knew how much I hated being looked straight in the eye when I'm trying to be honest. I assumed it worked with Kankurou, too.

"I've spent a lot of time thinking about our failure of a date." He's addressing it directly now; it's improvement.

I nodded carefully, crossed my arms over my chest, and allowed my eyes wander some more. "And?" I prodded. "Sink or swim?"

He laughed nervously. "I think that it is..."

I waited patiently for him to decide, my eyes sliding back to him now. Kankurou visibly relaxed as we made eye contact. Huh, some things Ino had taught me were of actual use.

"Remember, _you _are in control in the relationship, Tenten," she'd told me the night I was going to go out with Kankurou. She'd made everyone leave so she could talk to me privately, something I was actually a little terrified of; we'd never had a heart-to-heart before.

"It's not a relationship," I'd protested. "I'm trying to prevent that, remember?"

"I'm not talking about right now," she'd said with a knowing look. "I'm talking about in the future. Just don't forget that, okay? You are worthy of respect, Tennie, and no man should ever take that away from you."

It was a very spur-of-the-moment thing, but I'd appreciated it none the less. It wasn't often that Ino was serious. You learned to savour the moments that she was.

"Swim." Kankurou's voice brought me back. Swim? What's he talking about?

"I thought that I would be way angrier than I was," he continued. Oh, yes, our friendship. That's what we were talking about. "But it turned out that I can't live without you."

That freaked me out. He's not going to try and ask me out again is he?

"I mean, you're my best friend and I can't bear to lose you over something stupid like this. I was too sensitive about everything. I shouldn't have just asked you out. It was completely irrational and I'm so sorry-"

"Kankurou," I said with one hand held up. "I get it." I took a step closer to him. "And, I've missed you, too." Then, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and hugged him.

-x-X-x-

My mom's fork clattered on her plate as she stared at me. "Okay, I've had enough. What is going on with you?" she demanded. "You are 'creeping me out' as you youngsters say."

I rolled my eyes. I loved my mom, but she really needed to stop trying to be cool. "Please never say that again," I muttered. I sighed dreamily after and said, "I'm just so happy that everything worked out okay."

My mother raised her eyebrows apprehensively. "What worked out?"

"Kankurou and I; he still wants to be friends."

"Oh," she said. "Is that good?"

"Not just good, but awesome."

She nodded carefully, her fork now poised half way between her mouth and plate. "Well that's...good."

I nodded pleasantly. "It is, isn't it?"

She picked at her food some more and didn't respond.

-x-X-x-

"Oh, for the love of god, would you _please_ go emit your gases some where else?" Ino snapped while she watched, horrified, as Naruto and Kiba burped in perfect harmony.

"Aw, come one, Ino!" Kiba joked. "Where's your inner man?" The two of them flexed to punctuate the remark.

Ino rolled her eyes while the rest laughed as the two continued to jump around the room, flexing and belching like nobody's business. Then, of course, they did their weird little handshake, followed by a loud 'whoop!' as they went to go play a round of Foosball.

"I swear, one day they are going to realize that the more they act like that, the more they alienate any female interest," Ino said harshly. I glanced at Hinata out of the corner of my eye. She blushed and looked away.

"Oh, I don't know," I said with a shrug. Someone had to defend Hinata's choice in men, right? "I guess they have _some_ redeeming qualities. I mean, if you're into that whole immature thing."

The girls all stared at me blankly. "Oh, god," Sakura said. "You don't, like, _like _Naruto or Kiba do you?"

"What?" I exclaimed. I tried to do one good thing for someone and this is what it gets me. Great. "No! No, no, no. Never. I'm just saying, that everyone has different tastes. Some people like that cute, puppy-dog thing."

They all nodded. "Okay, then..."

We were all silent for a few moments. "I'm gonna go get some more chips!" Ino said with fake enthusiasm after a bit. "Be right back."

-x-X-x-

Ino placed the chips back in the cupboard and grabbed a cup from the one next to it, heading over to the fridge to look for some pop.

"Come on, it has to be in here some where..." she muttered while rummaging around, her butt straight up in the air.

"Looking for something?"

"Holy shit!" she shrieked while whacking her head on a shelf. She whirled around to see who had caused the bump on her head.

"Hey," Shikamaru said, leaning against the counter and sipping a Coke.

"Hi," Ino said back. It had been a while since she and Shika had talked. Ever since Temari had come back, things had been awkward between the two of them. Ino wasn't really sure why, but she didn't like Temari all that much. She was a nice girl and everything but...did Shikamaru really like being around her?

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Naruto needed help with his math," he said lazily.

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you at Hinata's house?"

He sighed like the conversation was too laborious to continue. "Because he thought that there were too many distractions at his house so we'd go some where else. Clearly, he was wrong."

"So he's not doing so well, then?"

"We've only done one question."

"Oh, god."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence while they sipped their drinks. Ino had missed this, oddly enough. There weren't may moments when she valued the silence. She got enough of it at her house with her mom gone.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment. She looked up. What did he have to be sorry for?

"I'm sorry that you can't handle confrontation," he finished, a slight smirk on his lips.

This set her off. "Excuse me?" she demanded. "In case you haven't noticed, _you _seem to be the one who always runs from me. Do you know how long I've waited to talk to you? But every time I try to phone your house or flag you down at school you run. You _always _run."

Shikamaru laughed. "Oh, really? Tell me, Ino, how long did it take you to work up the nerve to phone my house then hang up four times? Admit it, you may be able to confront everyone else, but when it comes to me, you just can't do it."

"I can so!" She was pissed now. How dare he? She was the queen of confrontation. She was born for this! She was born to be the one to tell people off, to let them now how she felt. It was her spot. "I'm always the one who gives people a piece of my mind so why would you be any different?"

"Because you care too much?"

She stiffened. That wasn't what she was expecting. "No," she said. "No, that isn't it."

"Really." He was skeptical, and it didn't come out as a question. He knew her too well. "What is all this about, Ino? Is this Temari? Are we really going to go there again? I thought you were over it."

"I am over it!" she cried indignantly. "I have been. I just..." She was floundering. Maybe he was right. Maybe this _was _why she wouldn't talk to her Shika any more – her childhood friend, her brother practically. "Does she...does she make you happy?"

Something changed in his face then. "What?"

"I said, 'does she make you happy?'" Ino repeated.

He was confused. "What? Yeah, of course she does. Why would you ask something like that?"

"Because that's all I want for you," she said softly. "I just want you to be happy."

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Troublesome women and their hormones," he muttered to himself. "Of course, I'm happy, Ino. Why the hell would I be with her if I wasn't?"

"I dunno... I guess I thought that the only way you could be truly happy was if you were, you know, with, well, me." She fidgeted. This was the first time they had really opened up to each other. Well, there was the odd conversation when they were little kids, but Shikamaru wasn't really good with feelings.

Another deep sigh and face rub. Was she stressing him out? "That was a one time thing and you know it. We agreed we were better off as friends."

"I know, I know. Temari just seems so controlling and bossy and very not your type."

"But that's just it. She's all of those things and it gets me to get off my ass every so often. If you recall, you're just like that, Ino."

And that was it. Ino finally understood why he chose Temari over her. She was everything Ino was without the awkwardness of childhood memories or the sibling love that she felt for him and he felt for her. She wasn't in love with him – she was just protective. "I get it," she said. He looked at her cynically. "I do. It took me a while, but I do get it."

He smiled. (Ino had always loved his smile. Kind of lazy and slow, but always worth it. You really had to work to get one of Shikamaru's smiles.) He said, "Good" and reached forward to give her a hug.

-x-X-x-

Kankurou always knew how to make me laugh. I knew for a fact that he could not skateboard worth his life and yet he still really wanted to come to the park with me. It was sweet but I was suspicious at first. I mean, come on. Since when was it okay for guys to get showed up by girls?

But once we got there, it all came together. He was in no mood to learn to skateboard. He was here to spy. Of course, Ino and Sakura had tagged along, dragging Kiba with them for some unfathomable reason. The only one missing was Kasumi. It was almost a relief to not have her whispering comments about everyone in the park; they usually set me off into fits of hysterical giggles.

So here we were, crouched behind a cluster of bushes watching Hinata and Naruto flirt (If you could it that. Honestly, the two have less talent than me, which is saying something.) shamelessly with what I could only call a stalker's dedication. I really had too much time on my hands.

I had a feeling that Kankurou hadn't orchestrated this, though. Mostly because a) I had a feeling he could care less about Naruto and Hinata's romantic relations, b) he was an awful sneak-er, and c) Ino and Sakura were here. Enough said.

Kiba, on the other hand, I could not wrap my head around. Why he was here, I had no clue. Ino could have possibly dragged him here, but I found that doubtful. The two – despite how much they had in common – didn't talk that often.

"Oh, god, if they get together I think I might die from the cute-ness of it all," Sakura said dreamily.

"Yeah, totally!" Ino squealed. "I'll be dying right along with you."

The two hugged and giggled those creepy girl giggles they do every so often (I made them stop after some time. It really annoyed me – still does actually...). The rest of us glanced warily at each other.

"You're not going to be like this the whole time we're here are you?" Kiba asked. "'Cause I swear I will leave if you are."

"I second that motion," Kankurou whispered hurriedly. I really thought he didn't want to be here. Not surprising considering I wasn't even sure if _I_ wanted to be here. But I was doing this for Hinata. And Naruto. But mostly Hinata because I was pretty sure Ino and Sakura would find a way to screw it up and completely embarrass her all at once.

"Can we get closer?" Ino asked, already starting to shuffle forward a bit to another cluster of bushes.

"I don't think so," Sakura and I said in unison as we both reached to pull her back by her collar. I smiled at her. She smiled back.

"We should give them some space," Sakura explained.

"Oh, yeah. Totally."

We sat in silence while watching Naruto and Hinata talked. It was weird to see her like that, so animated and bubbly. Seeing her be with Naruto was like seeing the real Hinata for the first time. That was a lie obviously, because the real Hinata was shy and easily intimidated by her father. But it was still nice to see her like that.

"Let's go," I finally said. The rest of the group just looked at me.

"Why?" Ino said.

"Yeah, why?" Sakura seconded. "Their sweet."

"But we should give them some privacy," I said. "They deserve that. If they do start going out they'll have to deal with Hiashi and Neji breathing down their necks. The least we can do is try not to interject."

Everyone stared at each other, then nodded.

"You're right," Kiba said. "We should leave."

And that's what we did. Linked arm in arm, we rose from our bushes and walked out of the park.

**Authoress' Note: Only took me, like, a month and a half to update this time which, although is incredibly sucky, is at least some improvement. Be proud, maybe?**

**As far as my age guessing thing goes, was the closest with guessing I was 14 turning 15. She was only a year off (I was 13 turning 14). So, congratulations! In your honor, I'm willing to write a one-shot/two-shot with the couple of your choice and a plot of your imagination if you can think of one. To all the others who took a shot, thank-you for thinking so highly of my, er, writing! Most of your guesses were just 2 years off. I feel slightly happy that you all thought I was 16. Makes me feel oh-so very mature :).**

**It almost saddens me to think of the ending of this story. I say almost because the other part of me is relieved to finish it and start some new stuff. My writing skills have developed a lot more since I first started it (I think it's been two years. Can you believe that? _Two whole years_. Completely mind-boggling.). The ending is few chapters away yet so I won't dwell on it.**

**Any way, lots of love and baked goods to those who reviewed!**

**KiwiBlossom**


	21. Chapter 20: Wallpapers

Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over

I do not own Naruto or any songs used in this fanfiction.

**Authoress' Note: So, I basically expect this chapter to absolutely suck. And I'm not looking for sympathy reviews or anything, I'm just stating a fact. I still have writer's block and was not motivated AT ALL to start writing. I actually almost considered leaving it for another couple months. But then I thought that anyone who's still following this story might track me down and try to kill me. So I'm updating despite the fact that it'll stink more than cow pies on a summer day.**

**Bee-tee-dubs, I was re-reading the last chapter and realized that fanfiction did something weird and didn't type the name of the person who guessed my age. So, I posted the winner in my profile. Go read if you want to know.**

**But still, try and enjoy it and a review would be great :P.**

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Awwwww!" Sakura and Ino cooed when they spotted Hinata and Naruto walking down the hall, hand in hand. I smiled softly; they really were an adorable couple.

"They're so cute!" Sakura crooned. "If only Naruto had noticed Hina earlier, eh?"

Ino nodded vigoursly. "Oh, totally. 'Cause everyone else could see it, and we were just waiting for Naruto to clue in. The boy is so cluelessly it's sad."

I nodded absentmindly while the two chattered away. It was great that Hinata and Naruto had gotten together, don't get me wrong, but now that I thought about it _everyone _was in couplesville. I mean, even Kasumi – the most skeptical of all of us – had Gaara. Then there was Sakura and Sasuke, Ino constantly had someone and now Naruto and Hinata. So where did that leave me?

Well, yes, there was Neji but god knows that's not going anywhere. We were friends and that's all, I knew. He just didn't like me in that way. I could accept that. I think.

"So, Tennie, what about you?" Sakura suggested, raising a pink eyebrow.

"What about me?" I replied nonchalantly.

"Don't bull shit us," Ino said bluntly. "There's gotta be someone you have a thing for."

I shrugged carelessly. "Nope. No one."

They raised their eyebrows. Peered closely at me. Touched my forehead to see if I had a fever.

"I don't believe you," Ino said finally.

"Well, you should 'cause it's the truth."

They dropped it then, but knowing Sakura and Ino, it wasn't the last I was going to hear of it.

-x-X-x-

I was right about not hearing the end of it. Instead of leaving me alone like they should, they recruited Kasumi to start badgering me.

"So, Ino and Sakura are convinced you're hiding something from them," she said to me between classes the next day.

"I'm not."

She raised her eyebrows. What was up with that? Is it there code or something? "Really?"

"Yeah."

She paused to consider my answer. "Okay."

And that was one of the great things about Kasumi. If you earned her trust, she never doubted you. Of course, it didn't stop there, though.

"So, Tenten, I hear you've got a thing for that Kiba kid," Yumi, a girl I hardly ever talked to outside of basketball practice, asked me while we were changing for Phys-Ed one day.

"You heard wrong then," I told her, gathered up my stuff and left.

"It's okay if you do!" she called after me.

I ignored her.

Eventually, most of my grade had tried to get me to admit who I liked, even some guys. The answer was always the same, but that didn't stop them. With the guys, it was probably just the competitive edge thing. The girls were split between wanting something to gossip about and just wanting to know. Either way, I was starting to get really pissed off.

The only one who hadn't bothered me about it too much was Hinata, who, after one feeble attempt, hadn't mentioned it at all. I started to really enjoy hanging out with her more than I used to.

But my frustration mounted to the point where I couldn't take it any longer.

"Do you think if I told one person who I liked, everyone would leave me alone?" I asked her while we were studying at my house after about a week of harrassment.

She lifted her shoulders in a shrug thoughtfully. "Probably," she said, "but then that person you'd told would get bothered to the point where they would tell another person who would tell another and so on. Either way, everyone will know."

I sighed. "Great."

"Sorry, but it's the truth." She smiled bashfully.

"I know. Thanks."

We didn't talk much for the rest of the study date except to sing along badly to the songs that played on the radio and get food.

-x-X-x-

_I spend way too much time at the Hyuuga Manor, _I though to myself as I walked leisurely towards the very house I was thinking of. _It's almost like my second home._

Which, in all actuality, it probably was. If I wasn't with the girls, I was studying with Neji or Hinata. I even came to "babysit" Hanabi a few times just so that I wouldn't have to be home. The guilt started to settle on me now that I was thinking about it. What kind of daughter was I? I left my mother home alone countless times so that I could avoid any talk about my the upcoming visit to my dad's. Ugh, I'm such an awful person.

Before I had the chance to knock on the door, one of the many maids opened it. She smiled tiredly at me and said, "Neji or Hinata?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Neji, today."

She led me through the series of hallways that I could never seem to get right even though I was here all the time to Neji's room. Knocking delicately, she murmured, "Neji-san? Tenten-san is here to see you."

She opened the door when there was no answer. Neji looked up from his desk, distracted.

"Hey," he said. He seemed surprised.

"Hey," I said back.

"What are you doing here?"

The maid slipped away after giving me a quick squeeze on the arm. I waved my textbook in the air. "We were supposed to study together?"

He was confused for a second. "Oh? Was that for today?"

I nodded. It wasn't like Neji to forget things like this. In fact, he was usually reminding me of our study sessions.

"Shit," he muttered bluntly, "I'm so sorry, Tenten, I must have forgot."

"Oh," I said. I couldn't help letting my disappointment slip through. "It's okay, we can just plan for another day."

"No, no, it's alright." He gestured towards the other chair he had in his room. I always sat on the floor. He knew that. "We can do it now, it's no problem."

"Okay," I said suspiciously. It wasn't like Neji to be so...casual, even with me. But I really didn't want to be home right now, so I sat in my usual spot on the floor and spread out my books around me.

We were quiet while we worked which wasn't unusual. The silence, though, _was _different: awkward. I didn't have any idea how to cure it, so I stayed quiet.

When I looked up from my textbook after reading the same line about a dozen times, I realized that Neji wasn't even studying. He was on his computer, eyes glued to the screen.

"Neji?" I poked him in the leg with my pencil. Threw my pencil at him. Yelled a couple times. What could hold his attention so raptly after all that?

Deciding that no matter how many things I threw at him Neji would not come out of his trance, I creeped steathily up to him, got as close to his ear as I could without moving a muscle, and screamed.

"NEJI!"

"Shit!" He yelled and flailed around before falling out of his chair. With his hair all messed, legs above his head and a furious look on his face, I couldn't help but burst into laughter. I mean, come on; He looked hilarious! Neji, dishevelled? Pretty freaking funny.

Of course, he didn't find it as funny as I did. Especially when I started taking pictures with my phone.

"Tenten," he muttered darkly, "give me the phone."

I cackled "No way!" and took off running. I may not know every hallway in the Hyuuga Manor, but I knew the basics. I also knew all the best hiding spots thanks to many hours of hide-and-go-seek with Hanabi and her friends. Who said you can't learn things from babysitting?

I flung myself around a corner and looked in both directions. Listened carefully.

"Ha!" Neji came running, jumped, about to tackle me. I dove out of the way and rolled around a wall.

"Tenten! The cell phone! NOW."

"Never!"

I pulled myself up and sprinted down the hall, Neji following close behind me. If I remembered correctly, there should be a dumb-waiter somewhere around here...

'_Yes!_' I shoved myself into the cramped space and pulled the doors shut just in time.

In a very horror movie-esque voice I heard someone – who didn't sound like Neji – whisper, "Come out, come out wherever you are!"

I muffled a giggle. I could picture him standing outside the dumb-waiter and creeping around looking for me. Suddenly, just as I was beginning to relax, the doors to my hiding spot were wrenched open.

"Boo," Kiba said with a wink as he hauled me out. I screamed and automatically started wiggling to get out of his grip. "Grab her legs!" he told someone. I felt a pair of hands wrap around my ankles tightly.

"Let me go! They're just some funny pictures!"

"To you they may be a laugh but to Neji they're his dignity going down the drain!" Naruto exclaimed dramatically. I caught a glimpse of Kiba (who was restraining my legs, by the way) rolling his eyes.

"Just give us the phone, Tenten," Sasuke mumbled. "This is more embarressing than it has to be."

"Hey," I said, stopping my wriggling momentarily, "have _you _ever seen a picture of Neji looking so ridiculous?" I flipped open my phone, accessed the photos, and held a particularly good one up for everyone to see.

The boys huddled around my phone and peered in at the small screen. Kiba and Naruto burst into a fit of laughter while Sasuke smirked in amusement.

"Dude!" Naruto blurted, letting me down. "That's awesome!" He high-fived me once I was righted. "You've gotta send me that."

I looked at them all with a grin. "Do we have a truce?"

"Absolutely."

-x-X-x-

Naruto thought it was a good idea to set the photos of Neji as his desktop picture. Hinata saw it. Even she couldn't help but laugh. I think Neji is trying to kill me.

Once again, I was at the Hyuuga house babysitting Hanabi. I've actually come to quite enjoy my time with Hanabi. She's not like every other girl her age, thank the lord. God knows I've babysat enough 12-year-olds who squeal when you mention Twilight or Justin Bieber. Horrified? Hell yeah.

Luckily, Hanabi hated Twilight and Justin Bieber. Instead, she liked classical music – which I think is boring as hell but it beats that bubble-gum pop crap – and is a dedicated Harry Potter fan. I'm proud to say I'm friends with her.

"Tenten," Hanabi yelled, "do you know where we're going next?"

"Azkaban?" I guessed.

"You bet your ass!"

I reprimended her for swearing (Not that I'm much of a role model...) and heard the trailers blare out of the expensive sound system in the main room. I was in the kitchen waiting for the popcorn.

Hanabi wandered in to find me sitting on their counter. "Don't you feel kind of lame spending your night with a kid?" she asked.

I swung my legs back and forth before saying, "First of all, thanks so much for calling me lame-" She shrugged apologetically. "-and, no I don't because you are not a kid."

"Oh, really? Then what am I?"

"You are way, _way _cooler than a kid," I said with a grin.

She paused, thought about it, "Yeah, you're right; I'm way cooler."

I laughed and pushed her towards the living room. "Go; watch the movie."

The microwave buzzed, and I hopped off the counter to get the bag. Humming a tune to myself, I turned around to see Neji leaning casually against the doorway.

"Hi..." I muttered awkwardly with a hesistant smile.

"Hi."

We stared back at each other for several moments before I finally said, "Are you going to kill me for giving Naruto that picture?"

He looked solemnly back at me. "No."

I relaxed. "Really?"

"Yup."

"Okay..."

"Instead, I want a picture of you."

Damn it. "Er...okay?"

He took out his camera. "Right now?" I asked. He nodded.

"And," he said. What more could he want? "I want you to take your hair down." He smirked maliciously.

My eyes widened in horror. Noooooooooo! This can not be happening! "Neji, you know that's not fair. I hate having my hair down."

He tutted (which almost made me crack up but I held it in). "I don't care. I hate looking like a fool and I especially hate that Naruto has a picture of me looking like a fool. The least you could do is let down your hair, Rapunzel."

I stared back at him with begging eyes. "Really? There isn't anything else I can do?"

He shook his head. I sighed heavily, reached up, pulled out a few bobby-pins, and let my hair come tumbling down. I did the same with the other bun while Neji smirked and took a picture of me.

-x-X-x-

Neji right-clicked the picture of Tenten he took, scrolled down to the settings.

"Do you want to set this picture as your wallpaper?"

Neji hesistated before deciding.

_Yes._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**Authoress' Note: Such a crap chapter. It's rough and awkward and just not good over all. But it's an update, right?**

**If you haven't already, please check out the new story I've written, 'Stay Awake.' My very lame take on vampires. Not at all Twilight inspired, btw. Can't really stand that whole franchise...**

**Please review!**

**KiwiBlossom**


	22. Chapter 21: The End Is Where We Begin

**Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over**

**I do not own Naruto or any songs used in this fanfiction.**

**Authoress' Note: Dedicated to my friend Maddy (who's not on here) who made my day by telling me I'm "such a celebrity" on here, and Jack Barakitten (who IS on here. Go check out her work (; ) for kicking my ass to get writing. I love you both!**

OoOoOoOoOoOo

To say that I was surprised when Neji tackled me to the ground so that I wouldn't use his computer would probably be the understatement of the year. Not only was I so surprised I thought I might die from shock (I was also winded and gasping from the force of his arm crashing into my stomach), I was slightly horrified. What if he'd touched my boob? Of course, now that he was out getting me a glass of water, I'd forgotten about the possible boob incident and was trying to sneak a peek at what he didn't want me to see.

Then again, I wasn't planning on him being so damn fast. I tend to forget that this is actually _Neji's _house and he doesn't constantly get lost like I do.

"Tenten, what are you doing?"

I whirled around from my kneeling position on the floor, my hair quite a mess and my eyes wide with panic, to stare wordlessly back at him.

"Er…"

He placed the cup of water on the desk before sighing loudly. "Can't you just be normal and listen to me for once?"

"Er..."

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Just never mind."

I plopped down into a cross-legged position. "Well, can you blame me?" I implored. "You were being so secretive! I was curious."

"Did it ever occur to you that whatever I was doing could be for you? And that I wanted it to be surprise?"

Oh. I hadn't thought of that. "No."

"Of course it didn't," he murmured.

Playing with the hem of my shirt, I peeked up at him through my bangs. "Well...was it for me?"

He looked shiftily out the window. "No."

I rolled my eyes. Typical. "Who's it for then?"

He turned the screen away from me. "Not happening. You tried to sneak it instead of just asking. Now, you'll have to wait."

"Aw, come on, Neji," I whined, pouting. "Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"You are incredibly annoying when you want to be," he muttered, completely dead-pan.

"I should be; I've had years of lessons from Ino."

He sighed heavily. "Fine." He turned the screen back to face me. Leaning in closer, I scanned the string of emails.

"You're planning a party?" I asked.

A grunt, "Yes."

"Who's it for?"

His gaze slipped to the window once more, cleared his throat, "You."

For the second time that day I was shocked past words. Why me? It couldn't be for my birthday – that had been months ago, in March. It was May now, and I couldn't for the life of me think of anyone we were particularly close with who's birthday was in May. Neji wasn't one for spontaneous parties...

"Dare I ask why?"I finally said.

"You didn't have a birthday party," he replied, eyebrows raised in surprise (or as surprised as a Hyuuga could be), as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"So...?"

"So? What do you mean so? Tenten, you do a ridiculous amount of things for other people and never take a moment to think about yourself."

I was still confused. I didn't _always _do stuff for other people. I just liked to help. There's nothing wrong with that. I told Neji.

"Look, I know there's nothing wrong with helping people but when you skip your own birthday, we have a problem."

"It was just a birthday!" I protested. To be honest, I really don't like birthdays. I'm not too fond of aging, not because I'm afraid of wrinkles or whatever but I don't want to grow up. There are too many pressures to begin with in high school. Then you add on a job, keeping up a social life, and applying to colleges/universities...how is a teenager supposed to keep up? One missed birthday party shouldn't be any thing to cause a fuss over.

"Sure, it's 'just a birthday' now but what about later?" he fired back. "What about when life gets in the way, and you're not only missing birthdays but anniversaries and weddings and baptisms-"

"I'm not Catholic," I put in. He ignored me and plowed on.

"and other important events!"

I had a feeling this wasn't entirely about me anymore. "Neji, what are you talking about?"

He sighed wearily and ran a hand over his face before answering, "Can you please let me do this one thing for you?"

What I wanted to say was, "no, you may not because birthdays are overrated and stupid." But that was only in my head, and, as we all know, when you say things in your head you never say them aloud.

"Fine..."

-x-X-x-

Turns out, letting Neji throw a party wasn't such a bad idea – as long as Naruto and Kiba were there to help him.

I knew that if Neji had planned the party all by himself we'd be sitting in an expensive restaurant eating frogs' legs and discussing classic literature. But with Kiba and Naruto there to balance him out, we got a healthy mix of classy (no dangerous alcohol and no unwanted party crashers) and trashy (beer/coolers and stupid party games).

Apparently, though, Neji, Kiba, and Naruto were not informed that letting Sakura and Ino pick party games was the dumbest decision you could possibly make. Because what kind of party games do Sakura and Ino (and evidently most of the male population) like? You know what: perverted ones.

Exhibit A: Spin the Bottle, my arch nemesis. Luckily I got out of this one. I'm pretty sure the winning argument was when I pointed out I was the 'birthday girl' and should not be forced to play ludicrous games like the one mentioned. Needless to say, they caved.

I was fortunate enough to avoid the next game, 'Suck and Blow' (which is incredibly less perverted than the name suggests). Basically, you have to pass a playing card with your lips using the suction from your breath and so on. Am I the only one who found that game juvenile?

The 'entertainment' continued with a game called 'Necking' where you pass a ball tucked under your neck to the person next to you. Ironically, I remembered playing that during middle school. I didn't like it then anymore than I did now.

Sadly, my luck ran out as we approached the most uncomfortable game known to mankind: Seven Minutes in Heaven.

I never fully understood why the seven minutes were claimed to be 'heaven.' I distinctly remember Martin Mitchells and I getting our braces caught trying to play this in sixth grade. Yeah, having your mother drive you and your 'boyfriend' to the orthodontist's office to get cut apart is not all it's cracked up to be.

But I was braces-free now and ready to be a bit fearless (I have a feeling that this induced courage was due to the fact that I was slightly tipsy by the time this game rolled around. I always had had a low alcohol tolerance...). In fact, the look of astonishment on my friends' faces when it took little to no persuasion to get me to play was almost worth the humiliation. Almost.

Because of my, er, _inebriated_, state, my brain was clearly not functioning when Neji and I got stuck in the closet. Truthfully, I think I was so drunk that I started laughing like a lunatic when the door shut. (I can't honestly say, seeing as that everything is a bit fuzzy. I've been piecing things together from the taunts from Kasumi, Ino, and Sakura.)

So instead of proceeding to do what all teens – and pre-teens, for that matter – usually do in these situations, I slid down the wall to sit and giggle some more.

"I think you've had enough to drink," Neji said gently with a small laugh, prying the bottle of whatever alcohol (_a cooler maybe?_) I had at the time out of my hand.

I nodded tiredly and mumbled something incoherent.

He sank down next to me, holding my cooler and adjusting me so that I didn't flash the world when the door opened. (Somehow, Ino had managed to talk me into a dress. Not as drastic as the horrible date with Kankurou, but not so that I looked like a granny. Obviously my drunk brain hadn't accounted for the fact that I wasn't wearing shorts underneath.)

I continued to mutter various things that were difficult to understand, but Neji let me. He just sat next to me – my head on his shoulder – and nodded along to everything I ranted about.

"You know what?" I finally managed to slur, loud enough to be heard, I suppose.

"What?" he replied softly.

"I like you," I said loudly, clearly not thinking as I rambled on. "Like, I like you _a lot_. I have for a long time."

He was quiet. Normally, if I wasn't completely smashed, I'd have scooted away from him and pretended I hadn't said anything. Come to think of it, he'd probably have played along, too, and we could have gone back to the way things were. But I _was_ smashed and persisted to blather on like a fool.

"Like, when you kissed me back in September or whatever I just knew. Bam! I just, like, started to notice you more. But then you started to date Sakura and I wasn't sure if I should tell her and things got _way_ to complicated." I let the 'way' go for too long so that I sounded like a valley-girl. Unfortunately, I remembered that perfectly.

"And then she was, like, so freaking _pissed_ when you broke up and told her. And I felt like I couldn't do anything to stop her from being upset which sucked and then... would you _say something?_" I finally demanded. He'd been silent for too long to drunk Tenten, I guess.

He was quiet still for a moment. He did eventually talk, though: "That's a lot to process."

"Damn straight!" I exclaimed while making a desperate grab for my drink. He avoided me without hesitation. Drunk Tenten wasn't so agile.

"Tenten, do you know what you just said?" he asked as he pulled me off his lap.

"Of course I do," I responded, looking very alert despite my current state of mind. I attempted another swipe at my drink. Once more, Neji avoided me effortlessly. I huffed in disappointment and crossed my arms over my chest, sulking.

"Are you absolutely sure?" he questioned, eyebrows creased in concern.

I sighed like a smart-ass five-year-old dealing with a mom that just didn't get why Barbies were cooler than Bratz. "Absolutely."

He swallowed nervously. "I want you to know that I was completely not thinking that day. There as some stupid stuff going on at home, and I reacted poorly. I'm sorry that I compromised your feelings like that; I shouldn't have."

This comment sobered me up immediately. I deflated into a slouch and shuffled away from him, into the corner. "Thanks, Neji, that makes me feel so great."

His eyes widened as he re-thought what he'd said. "Oh, god, Tenten, no, that's not what I meant-"

But he didn't have time to finish as the closet door swung open to reveal an optimistic Sakura and a grinning Naruto. I shoved past them and headed for Hinata's room to take refuge.

"Wait, let me explain!" Neji called after me. I ignored him but couldn't help but smile a bit as I heard his footsteps follow me.

I slammed the door in his face and locked it.

"I'm not done!" he yelled through Hinata's lavender door.

"I am," I said quietly back. Not quiet enough for him to hear, though.

"Come on, please let me in. Let me explain?"

I thought about it before saying, "We don't have to be in the same room for you to explain."

It was still on the other side, and for a minute I thought he'd given up. Then, in a hushed voice, he pleaded, "Please, Tenten. This is private."

I don't know if it was because of the sugar levels in my blood or if I had a sudden rush of sympathy – which I was not well-known for due to my parents' messy divorce – but something in his tone made me feel empathetic enough to open the door.

He looked up hopefully when I stood before him. I let him in.

"Back there, I phrased that terribly," he said with sad shake of his head. "Look, that day, I admit I was – for lack of better words – fucked up. Hiashi had been on me about grades and jobs and 'controlling' Hinata and Hanabi and I guess I acted out. At first, I was just skipping – something to tarnish my perfect record, I suppose. But when I saw you sprinting like your life depended that day, something... clicked."

I sniffled lightly. "What clicked?" I mumbled indignantly.

He ran a hand over his face dejectedly – he seemed to be doing that a lot lately – and murmured something I couldn't here.

"What?"

"I wanted a friend!" he finally cried. "I hang out with the guys to make sure Hinata doesn't get too involved and that's it. I had no one to confide in, no one to _talk_ to. And then you appeared out of nowhere, and I thought it was fate bringing us together like that. How could I deny destiny?"

I was speechless for a moment, mulling everything over. "That's a lot to process," I repeated, quoting him.

He nodded. "I know."

I inhaled sharply and stated, "You still didn't tell me what I wanted to know."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I don't care why you kissed me that day – although I do admit I was curious. I want to know if you feel the same way."

He couldn't meet my gaze which I took as a bad sign. If he couldn't even look at me, then why would he be interested?

"I think we both know my feelings toward you are...difficult to explain."

"I don't care. Explain them to me. I'm supposed to be your friend, aren't I?"

He was sullen for a breath but turned to face me uncomfortably after. "I...like you. I like you a lot more than I'd probably care to admit."

I flinched a bit at that comment. I understood that Neji had problems expressing his emotions but couldn't he be a little less blunt?

"But I'm finished smothering my feelings. It's gone on for long enough, to the point that I'm trying to find excuses to be around you, do stuff for you, anything to be around. And do you know why?"

I shook my head with a small smile on my face. In a way, what he'd said was romantic, and I appreciated that because I knew he was trying.

"Because I like your energy; I like how you're always happy and trying to help people or do stuff for _them_. You make it seem like your purpose on this planet is just to help without expecting anything in return. Even when things go wrong, you grin and bare it. I don't have those qualities which was initially why I hung around you – or, at least, that's why I told myself – but eventually I couldn't deny that I didn't want to just be acquaintances."

I nodded thoughtfully. "So...does that mean we're going to give this relationship thing a go?" I said, looking up through my bangs hopefully.

"I don't know about a relationship..."

I must have looked crestfallen because he continued, "Let me finish! I don't think a relationship is what we need...because we already have one."

I grinned.

"But maybe, we can start with me taking you out on a date – a proper one. How does that sound?"

My grin widened as gave him a quick hug and said a muffled, "hell yeah" into his neck.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

**Authoress' Note: Even I didn't see that coming. For once, I didn't think too much about the chapter and what I was going to do for the next one. I just sat down with my ipod blasting and wrote. **

**With the way this chapter ended, I think we all know what's happening next: the end is near for this story. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to go about writing it but we'll have to see – you and me both. **

**Once this story is over, I think I'll be focusing more on my other multi-chapter fic, "Stay Awake", and hope for the best. I've been heavily considering re-writing the first chapters of this story so that the writing quality is more 'up to par' with the rest of it. But, who knows? **

**Reviews?**

**KiwiBlossom **


	23. Chapter 22: Finale

Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over

I do not own Naruto or any songs used in this fanfiction.

**Authoress' Note: The last chapter is here! Who would have thought I'd actually _finish _this? I didn't. It's thrilling to say I've finished an actual story (:**

**And on that note, I give you the last chapter of Tenten's Guide to Screwing Yourself Over.**

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It was as if the universe had fallen into place. Once Neji and I had gotten together, everything seemed perfect – better, almost. The sun was brighter, the birds that chirped in the morning, less annoying. Everything matched up, and I couldn't see any wrong.

I sighed dreamily as Neji and I walked downtown, hand-in-hand. How many times had I thought about this? Neji and I, strolling casually around in public, for everyone to see! And being couple-y? Who would have thunk it?

Gazing up, I grinned at my boyfriend. "How did we get like this?" I murmured softly.

He looked down at me with an eyebrow quirked. "What do you mean?"

"You know," I said, gesturing vaguely with my other hand, "romantic?"

He gave me a funny look before saying, "If this is your idea of romantic, I have a feeling I won't have to get especially creative."

"Shut up," I said while playfully bumping his shoulder. "I mean, we look like such a couple."

"We are a couple."

"I know, I know, but did you ever picture us being so openly affectionate?"

He thought about it for a moment, staring idly at the sky. "Absolutely."

I beamed again, stretched up on my toes and kissed him right there, in front of everyone and didn't care.

-x-X-x-

I could see Sakura and Ino whispering, pointing, but this time I'm not over there with them and it feels good. For once, I'm the girl that's part of the couple they're whispering about. I hope everything they said is positive, but you can never be too sure with those girls.

Hinata and Kasumi were there too, of course, but they don't say anything. They're just not like that. They did smile reassuringly and wave, though, which is enough to put a spring in my step. Neji glared mockingly down at me as if my pep is screwing with his cool. I ignored him and continued to bounce cheerfully along. He rolled his eyes. I ignored him some more.

When we walk into class, the shock radiating off of everyone is tangible. It really shouldn't be, considering the speed that gossip usually travels around here. I'm thinking that Sakura and Ino weren't behind the spreading this time, though, which is why no one knows. Once again, I don't care and take my seat, Neji settling in next to me as usual. We lace fingers immediately, displaying them on the desk in front of us.

People still refused to stop gawking and I almost got annoyed but then I remembered that I don't care what people think. I've finally got the guy and people can suck it.

The person who seemed the most surprised is the next to enter, Karin and her crew. She stopped right smack in the middle of the room to gape, her jaw dropping. I grinned almost triumphantly at her. Why, I'm not sure, but I feel like I won some sort of battle. Like, by achieving the target that seemed so far out of my reach, I proved everyone wrong about me. Especially Karin, I guess.

My classmates shifted back to there old positions and began talking obscenely loudly while Karin stormed over to me.

"What the hell happened?" she hissed, eyes flashing behind her glasses. I will give her credit for choosing to wear those eye-goggles instead of opting for contacts. It showed that she wasn't as vain as everyone perceived, I thought.

I opened my mouth to retort but Neji beat me to it, interjecting with a tart, "The inevitable."

That shut her up and earned a kiss from me.

-x-X-x-

I'd kissed guys before, but I'd never experienced kisses like Neji's. Who knows, maybe it wasn't even Neji himself but just the fact that I was kissing someone I cared about or even – dare I say – loved. Well, maybe love is taking it a bit far, but there are definitely feelings stronger than like there.

How do you say that to someone? I'm falling in like with you. _I'm_ falling in like with you. I'm falling in like _with you_. No matter how you said it, it wasn't right.

I'm falling in _l_ove with you. Doesn't that sound better? I think it does. Maybe that's it; we're not supposed to fall in like so God or Buddha or whoever made it so that whenever you try that sentence out, it doesn't work. That way, when you find the right person, you can tell them 'I love you' and know it's perfect.

But then again, the word love is overused so much today. In fact, I heard a group of 14-year-olds squealing that they "love that tank-top!" that's on display in some over-priced boutique that's made out of cheap fabric that will rip the moment some high school boy gets their paws on them. They are a prime example of what I'm saying. Has 'I love you' become so meaningless that we could use anything to substitute it? Is saying 'I love you' just like saying 'you're a cheese sandwich'?

I smile to myself. Neji would have liked that. I took out my phone and dialed his number, waiting only two rings before he answers.

"_Tenten? What's wrong?_" he asked, assuming that I'm in some sort of trouble. Have faith, 'kay, Neji?

"Nothing," I said back with the stupid smile still plastered on my face. "I just wanted to say that I cheese sandwich you."

There was no response at first, and I almost start thinking that I over-stepped, that he's not going to get it or play along because he's Neji-freaking-Hyuuga and doesn't _do_ random musings.

But then, "_I cheese sandwich you, too, Tenten_." Then he hung up and I was smiling like a fool all over again. I had chose a keeper, don't you think?

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**It's really more like an epilogue, but I think the shortness is okay. It seemed to be the best place to end it, wrap everything up. Sorry to anyone who expected more.**

**I still can't believe I finished this. I feel accomplished, relieved, and a bit sad. Even though these characters already exist and have personalities, I feel like I gave each of them my own little twist.**

**I'd like – no, wait, _love_ – to thank everyone who's stuck along for the whole ride, from beginning to end. You guys are awesome, and I'm forever thankful to you for putting up with all the stuff over the past two years (Holy mother of... two years...). **

**To the new-comers to this story, I appreciate you, too! Each review you sent in motivated me to write even though I was wondering why you chose to jump on board so late :P.**

**To all the non-reviewers who still faithfully read this, I thank you as well. Yes, I do check my stats like the nerd I am and I know you're out there. Seeing those numbers made me grin like a mad woman and start writing!**

**Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone. There are literally no words.**

**Lots of love,**

**KiwiBlossom **


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